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Decision keeps Sylvan Pass open
This document was published online on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
An amended Record of Decision addressing a long-term plan to guide management of winter use over Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone Park has been finalized.
The amended ROD was signed recently by Mike Snyder, director of the Intermountain Region of the Park Service. The signing finalizes the work of a special committee that included city and county officials and state and local legislators.
They met throughout the winter with park officials to work out a plan to allow Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance to remain open in winter, something that was not part of an earlier NPS decision on winter use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.
A November 2007 Record of Decision on winter use called for the NPS to work with the state, county and the city of Cody to explore reasonable avalanche and access mitigation safety measures, which would provide continued snowmobile and snowcoach travel along the East Entrance road over Sylvan Pass.
Members of the Sylvan Pass Study Group met several times and discussed safety and access concerns.
In June, the study group recommended the continued use of a combination of avalanche mitigation techniques to provide for safe oversnow travel through Sylvan Pass.
The group agreed the safety of visitors, guides and NPS staffers was the first priority in avalanche mitigation. They also agreed to explore funding of access and safety improvements.
Beginning in the 2008-09 winter season, the East Entrance and Sylvan Pass will be open for motorized and non-motorized oversnow travel for a limited core season Dec. 22-March 1 each winter. It is subject to weather, safety, equipment and fiscal constraints.
A combination of avalanche mitigation techniques may be used in Sylvan Pass, including forecasting and helicopter and howitzer dispensed explosives, as well as techniques that may be available in the future.
The Park Service will review and update the previous Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Operational Risk Management Assessment safety evaluations. They also will evaluate additional avalanche mitigation techniques to further improve safety and visitor access.
Avalanche management on Sylvan Pass may necessitate unscheduled, temporary closures of the road segment through the pass. Management of avalanches cannot guarantee the pass will be open every day during the winter season.
Beginning this winter, 540 Best Available Technology snowmobiles and 83 snowcoaches will be allowed into Yellowstone each day during a winter season which starts Dec. 15 and ends March 15.
A total of 30 BAT snowmobiles and two snowcoaches will be allowed per day through the east gate during the core season Dec. 22-March 1.
All snowmobiles and snowcoaches will continue to be commercially guided and will only travel on existing park roads groomed for their use.
Trail and off-road use of snowmobiles and snowcoaches will continue to be prohibited.
The amended ROD, the original November 2007 ROD, and the Winter Use Plans Final Environmental Impact Statement may be viewed at the Park Service's Web site, http://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentslist.cfm?parkId=111&project Id=12047.
The documents also are available by writing to the Winter Use Planning Team, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone Park, 82190.
For more information call (307) 344-2019.
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Yeti wrote on Jul 24, 2008 9:10 PM: