In Reply to: Daily Report., huh. posted by Roadie on March 10, 2007 at 11:16:26:
Roadie,
Given that the entire network of interior roads shuts down Sunday night, it's only a few days of access lost. Also, the links from Madison to Canyon were already closed for plowing, so nobody could do the entire loop. I'm betting that there were very few individuals impacted.
I have to believe that this action was taken to protect snowmobilers, who are rather exposed, from those emerging adult male griz, who are notoriously groggy and prone to "errors in judgement". Although I know, that some sled-heads have been observed "sandwich tossing" (I've seen it, as well as motorists in summer doing the same, which is how the Hayden pack got so habituated to the road and their human benefactors), I think the guide requirement has greatly reduced that behavior. I'm not a fan of the guide requirement, personally. I recognize it has reduced the incidents of critter hazing, sidehilling, and sandwich tossing, but the vast majority of sled-heads were not engaging in that behavior in the pre-guide days. It's sort of like mass punishment before the fact. If someone let me drop a super powerful atomic bomb on any city on this planet, I could eliminate murder, rape, and other violent crimes (until humans migrated into the vacant space). Admittedly, that is a pretty radical approach to law enforcement. In the case of Yellowstone's Winter Use Plan, I believe that the migration to four stroke sleds, which are much heavier and less torque'y than their two stroke cousins, made snowmobiling in Yellowstone considerably less appealing to the little niche minority of "hot dogs", who were largely responsible for the transgressions of the past. Those adrenalin junkies now tend to stay out on the national forest.
I would be comfortable with a compromise guide program, which would require first timers to go guided, more for their safety than resource protection, but allow repeat visitors to forego the guide.
Gee, that reminds me. The comment period for the revised Winter Use Management Plan is about to start. I need to get my two cents in. I'm pretty sure there is going to be a way of submitting comments electronically. We need to research that.
I'm off to get a firsthand look at snow conditions on the Northern Range. (very important volunteer work for which I get no compensation or recognition)
Ballpark