<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:14px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1416508350553_27812" dir="ltr"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1416508350553_27811">I have a question.<br><br>Would these backcountry fees be used to increase patrols in order to cite people (like gazers) enjoying the backcountry geyser basins?</span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1416508350553_27814"> </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1416508350553_27816"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1416508350553_27815">Bruce Jensen,
<br>California, USA
<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~
<br></div></div> <div class="qtdSeparateBR"><br><br></div><div class="yahoo_quoted" style="display: block;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> On Wednesday, November 19, 2014 5:44 PM, Karen Webb <caros@xmission.com> wrote:<br> </font> </div> <blockquote style="padding-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-left-color: rgb(16, 16, 255); border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid;"> <br><br> <div class="y_msg_container"><div id="yiv3473877597">
<div>
<font size="-1"><font face="Comic Sans MS">Thanks for the report,
Jacob. I'm still mulling this over. Paul's reaction to the rates
as they are is that they should just post a sign that says "Poor
people not welcome." I don't know as much as I should about
other sources of income for national parks. I would feel after
the debacle with the government shut-down last year that if the
federal government can shut down and, with virtually no warning,
de facto shut down all national parks in-season (don't even get
me started on WIC), they should also be able to ante up funding
to help support park services. I think I've said this before,
but it's ironic considering that YA bookstores carry the book
that describes nature deprivation syndrome, escalating fees for
all things park-related are probably already excluding the
segment of the population most in need of contact with the
natural world.</font></font> It would be nice if there were a
way to exchange service for the fee if the bottom line is that this
money is needed to improve services, or possibly to lower the fee if
the visitors can document low-income status.<br>
Karen Webb<br>
<br>
<div class="yiv3473877597moz-cite-prefix">On 11/18/2014 10:22 PM, Jacob Young
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56585">I attended one of the
public comment meetings this evening in Bozeman along with
Will Boekel. I didn't necessarily have much to comment on
but I wanted to see what one of these meetings was like.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56588">The crowd of about 20
heard from acting superintendent Steve Iobst. The head
backcountry ranger and the head law enforcement ranger plus
another Yellowstone somebody were also there.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56617">Overall, there was not
much opposition to these fee increases. If anything, some
were saying "why not a little higher?" Most of the
discussion revolved around other revenue sources. Including
tour company fees, Interagency fees, the *only* $10 Senior
Interagency pass, etc. The NPS does not have the authority
to change those fees. My takeaway was that those would take
acts of Congress to change. Many NPS Parks are currently in
a comment period around fee structure changes because this
is the time that all the legal acts and such have allowed
them to be opened to change.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56635">A tour guide suggested
lowering tour fees to encourage visitors to take guided
services thereby lessening the impact of private autos and
better "controlling" visitors. It was a suggestion that
didn't seem to have much support behind it. I think when
most people think of Yellowstone tour groups, they think big
busses of foreign (Asian) visitors. Vehicles with more than
26 passengers are in their own fee category that the NPS
can't touch at this time. He did mention that Yellowstone
is well-known and desirable destination in the "Pacific
Rim": China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, and they only expect
an increase in the number of large 40, 50, maybe even 60
passenger busses of visitors from those regions as tour
companies catering to those countries are not showing signs
of decreasing. They are continuing to look for the best
ways to manage changing park demographics and visitor
experiences.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56623">There was general
discussion of budgets, revenue sources, concessionaire
contracts, and who pays for renovation projects.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56620">The discussion then
drifted away from fees per se onto general park visitor
experience, primarily gate congestion and parking congestion
(Midway Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pots were singled
out here). To paraphrase Iobst, "The solution in the past
was to build a bigger parking lot. That is no longer the
solution. It is here where resource protection will trump
visitor experience. There have to be other ways to deal
with it." So, naturally, the conversation went to a shuttle
bus system as exist in other big NPS parks. All the NPS
reps there seemed to talk around the idea, mentioning cost
and not putting trust in the idea that visitors are so
willing to give up the autonomy that an automobile provides.
Iobst also mentioned the unintended consequences of
shuttling in Zion: a heavy increase in trail use and
bicycling that they were not prepared for...so, more study
is needed. They're definitely gun shy after the failure of
a regional bus system for Yellowstone.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56657">Let's see, oh yeah,
entrance gates. Because of the splitting of fees for
Yellowstone and Grand Teton, the South Gate will likely get
an added lane to relieve congestion. The Gardiner Gateway
project will be entering phase 1 of 3 next year--the "money
is there" so it will be happening. Some talk about the West
Gate, but no changes that I heard. Discussion of the
Chamber of Commerce in West assisting in selling entrance
passes (not sure if they actually do that), or otherwise
acting as a place to ask questions in person instead of
holding up the entrance line was overwhelmingly positive as
a decrease in gate congestion. A Gardiner business owner
offered to sell entrance passes at her business and other
Gardiner businesses to alleviate North Gate waiting times.
The general consensus is that it's probably too difficult
to pull off legally.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56668">The NPS wants to get
proactive about selling entrance passes online, joining the
21st century, etc. but are slow to get there
because...government. It was clear that they WANT to hold
on to the chance to stop and talk to vehicles at the gate.
For some visitors, that is the only interaction the NPS
will get with them and provide even limited education on how
not to die or cause destruction during their visit. I don't
see how gate congestion will ever really be eliminated if
that is the case. It's clearly frustrating for frequent
visitors to have to wait in traffic, but I get the
impression that the trade-off of talking to every vehicle is
probably worth it given budget constraints and limited other
options.</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56719">It was a good
experience overall and the bureucracy of it all seemed much
further away in an intimate setting. I left feeling
satisfied that there ARE reasonable, articulate, and
thoughtful public servants working in Yellowstone. </span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56562" dir="ltr"><span id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56691">Jake Young</span></div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56638"><br>
</div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56689"><br>
</div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56690"><br>
</div>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56584" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56583" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56582" dir="ltr">
<hr size="1" id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56581"> <font id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56612" face="Arial" size="2"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b>
JEFFREY CROSS <a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jeff.cross@utah.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:jeff.cross@utah.edu"><jeff.cross@utah.edu></a><br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b>
<a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">"geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu"</a>
<a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu"><geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu></a> <br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b>
Sunday, November 16, 2014 9:19 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b>
[Geysers] Entrance and Backcountry Fee<br>
</font> </div>
<div class="yiv3473877597y_msg_container" id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56613"><br>
<div id="yiv3473877597">
<style type="text/css">#yiv3473877597 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}</style>
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56615">
<div id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56614" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; direction: ltr;">Note that
Yellowstone is proposing to increase the entrance
fee, and also to institute an overnight backcountry
use fee.<br>
<br>
Comments must be turned in by December 5th, 2014.<br>
<br>
<a id="yiv3473877597yui_3_16_0_1_1415904305191_56755" href="http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/14083.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/14083.htm</a><br>
<br>
What do we think of these ideas?<br>
<br>
Jeff Cross<br>
<a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jeff.cross@utah.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:jeff.cross@utah.edu">jeff.cross@utah.edu</a><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Geysers mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a><br>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="yiv3473877597mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre>_______________________________________________
Geysers mailing list
<a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a>
<a class="yiv3473877597moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a></pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br><br>
<hr style="border: currentColor; width: 99%; height: 1px; color: rgb(144, 144, 144); background-color: rgb(176, 176, 176);">
<table style="border: currentColor; border-collapse: collapse;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="padding: 0px 15px 0px 8px; border: currentColor;">
<a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">
<img src="http://static.avast.com/emails/avast-mail-stamp.png" border="0">
</a>
</td>
<td>
<div style='color: rgb(61, 77, 90); font-family: "Calibri", "Verdana", "Arial", "Helvetica"; font-size: 12pt;'>
This email is free from viruses and malware because <a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">avast! Antivirus</a> protection is active.
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
</div>
</div><br>_______________________________________________<br>Geysers mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" ymailto="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a><br><a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a><br><br></div> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>