Re: Yellowstone: Planned Study of Tower-Roosevelt

Tower-Roosevelt Comprehensive Plan Environmental Assessment Released for Public Comment

Yellowstone National Park is planning for the future of the Tower Roosevelt area, in the north east portion of the park, and is seeking public comment.

The Tower-Roosevelt Comprehensive Plan Environmental Assessment has been released for public review and comment. The plan offers three alternatives, each of which would put limits on what kind, where and how much future development can occur in the area. These limits are designed to protect the area’s natural resources, and preserve the historic, rustic nature of the area, which was first developed as a stage stop over one hundred years ago.

Possible future projects are proposed in the plan. During public comment, the park is seeking feedback on the list of possible projects.

Members of the park’s planning team are hosting two open houses to explain the plan and its three alternatives at an open house set for Wednesday, June 24 at the new Yellowstone Association headquarters building near the Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, and on Thursday, June 25 at the Bozeman Public Library, located at 626 E. Main Street. Both open houses will run from 6-9 p.m.

The environmental assessment and an electronic form to submit comments on the Internet can be found on the web at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. The plan is also available on CD or in hard copy by writing the National Park Service, Tower-Roosevelt Comprehensive Plan EA, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. Written comments may be submitted through this web site, in person, or by mail. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, July 8, 2009.

Once comments are analyzed, the National Park Service will make a decision on a preferred alternative and the final plan. The Regional Director of the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service will sign a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) containing details of the decision.

- www.nps.gov/yell -

The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing a comprehensive plan and environmental assessment (EA) for the Tower-Roosevelt developed area, including the Yancey’s Hole cookout site, and the Lamar River bridge. The purpose for comprehensive planning for the area is to determine the limits of acceptable change to address a variety of needs and conditions warranting action and to provide park managers with a framework for future decision and action.
Several changes have been proposed in the Tower-Roosevelt area to better serve visitors and accommodate necessary operations. Emergency response, maintenance facilities, and the ranger station/ backcountry office are too small to provide future adequate space for employees and efficient services for visitors. The park proposes improvement of corral operations as well as housing needs for both NPS and concessioner employees. This comprehensive plan and environmental assessment will address the limits of acceptable change for these facilities.
Circulation for vehicles, pedestrians, and horses can be confusing and congested throughout the Tower-Roosevelt area. Parking in front of Roosevelt Lodge lacks adequate design. Therefore, the plan will address circulation and parking. In addition, the Lamar River Bridge is deteriorating and requires replacement or rehabilitation in order to maintain travel from Tower Junction to the Lamar Valley and the Northeast Entrance.
An early step in the National Park Service planning process is to involve the public. We are soliciting your comments on the issues and alternatives to be addressed in the plan and environmental assessment being prepared for this project.
It is the practice of the NPS to make all comments, including names and addresses of respondents who provide that information, available for public review following the conclusion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Individuals may request that the NPS withhold their name and/or address from public disclosure. If you wish to do this, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. Commentors using the website can make such a request by checking the box “keep my contact information private.” NPS will honor such requests to the extent allowable by law, but you should be aware that NPS may still be required to disclose your name and address pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.

The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

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