The National Park Service is seeking a new route for Yellowstone's North Entrance Road, which was severed in several places by June 2022 flooding/NPS file, Jacob W. Frank
A search is beginning for an environmentally sensible route for a new North Entrance Road to Yellowstone National Park.
Such a route was necessitated by the June 2022 flooding that took out sections of the long-used route that ran near the bottom of the Gardner Canyon just above the Gardner River. Goals for the new road include providing year-round access between Gardiner, Montana, and Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana, natural hazard resiliency, and the protection of natural and cultural resources.
Yellowstone staff invites the public to learn about and provide input on the North Entrance Road project by way of virtual public meetings on February 12 and February 14. A 30-day public comment period will also begin February 12. Public input will help Yellowstone select an alignment and begin the environmental compliance process.
Yellowstone experienced a 500-year flood event on June 13, 2022. The flood destroyed infrastructure in the northern portion of the park including several sections of the North Entrance Road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner, Montana, and segments of the Northeast Entrance Road between Tower Junction and Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana. Both roads are open year-round and serve as the only winter vehicle access in and out of the park. After temporarily closing to regular visitor traffic on June 13, 2022, the Northeast Entrance Road opened to the public on Oct. 15, 2022, and a temporary road between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs opened to the public on October 30, 2022.
That temporary road from Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs required the regrading and expanding of the 4-mile-long Old Gardiner Road, which started out in the late 19th century as a stagecoach route,
The ultimate plan for rebuilding the North Entrance Road well could surprise many and represent a significant realignment from the path that's long been used to reach Mammoth Hot Springs from Gardiner, Montana, as rebuilding in the Gardner River Canyon would not necessarily eliminate the threat of future problems from flooding or landslides.
"I'm not a big fan of rebuilding through the canyon," Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said later in 2022. "I think restoring that canyon [to its natural contours] would be really good for a variety of reasons."
The possibility of future floods similar to the ones that hit in June 2022 would require raising the road corridor higher above the river, which at the same time could place it in danger of rockfalls, he said.
"You might be able to withstand another flood, but at some point I think that canyon's vulnerable to rock slides and other things that could damage the structure," Sholly said at the time.
Virtual Public Meetings
During each meeting, three preliminary road alignment alternatives will be presented along with two video flyovers to explain the damage, environmental challenges, constraints and opportunities of each alignment. Meeting details include:
Webinar 1:
- Feb. 12, 2024, 3:30-5 p.m. MST
- Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83341858193
- Webinar ID: 833 4185 8193
- Audio: 720 707 2699
- Feb. 14, 2024, 6-7:30 p.m. MST
- Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84390842047
- Webinar ID: 843 9084 2047
- Audio: 720 707 2699
Public Comment
Beginning February 12, the public can also provide formal comments. The preferred method for submitting comments is online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/NorthEntranceRoad. Comments may also be mailed or hand-delivered to: Yellowstone Center for Resources Attn: North Entrance Road EA, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. The deadline to submit comments is Wednesday, March 13.
At the conclusion of the 30-day public comment period, the National Park Service will analyze and consider all comments received. A draft environmental assessment will likely be released for public review fall 2024. A final decision is expected in early 2025.
Comments
This is really a good idea. That north entrance road has been a challenge ever since it was built. During my first summer as a seasonal ranger in YELL, a rockfall stranded me overnight in Gardiner as I was trying to return to Norris from a trip to Cisco Hot Spring. Spent a cold rainy night trying to sleep in the back of my International Harvester Scout. (Anyone remember those things?)
No mention in this article of "climate change," although I do see a header on this site titled "Climate Change and the Parks."
Is the NPS talk about climate change only lip service?
Certainly building new roads in national parks not only emits CO2 from construction, but it also encourages the entrance of countless cars, which emit CO2. (And even if cars are electric, buliding them and mining rare earth metals also emits CO2, and a sizable portion of the electricity they run on is generated by coal-fired powerplants.)
If the NPS (and this site) is really serious about climate change, then the NPS (and this site) should stop advocating for new roads and more cars in national parks
Mr. Dalton: How can you see the construction of a new road in a national park as "a good idea"? Do you not care about the extential threat of climate change?
Pancho, I am very much aware of climate change and fully support sensible measures to try to combat its terrible effects. But at the same time, let's try to work together to ensure that we don't alienate other people whose support is needed now more than ever. And there are already far too many others who have bought into the misinformation and outright lies of those who are trying to get them to join them in denial and opposition to necessary changes.
It's a delicate balancing act between extremism on both sides, and your comment here is just the kind of thing that helps fuel the manufactured outrage of people whose voices and Tweets are already too loud.
Instead of banning construction of new roads, wouldn't it be much more wise to work to ensure that construction of any kind of infrastructure is done with careful consideration of climate change and how the project may mitigate those effects. Is it possible that in the end, this new road might actually cause less harm than the existing road with its almost constant need for heavy equipment to keep it open for use?
I bet that if the road from your house to your favorite grocery store or other places you need or want to travel to was closed instead of being properly maintained, you'd be singing a different song.
When in the history of earth has the climate NOT been in a constant state of change?
"I bet that if the road from your house to your favorite grocery store or other places you need or want to travel to was closed instead of being properly maintained, you'd be singing a different song."
Nice attempted diversion, Mr. Dalton, but I don't live in a national park. National parks are supposed to be preserved unimpared for future generations. Bulding new roads in national parks is a clear violation of that charge and it's in direct opposition to NPS climate goals, including developing "strategies and specific actions to address sustainability challenges [and] reduce GHG emissions."
Anyone who is believes climate change to be a crisis must call for an immediate moritorum on building new roads in national parks.
Sorry, Poncho, I was referring to YOUR neighborhood, wherever that is.
How about a moratorium on road construction EVERYWHERE? Would you be willing to live with that?
You also posted : (And even if cars are electric, building them and mining rare earth metals also emits CO2, and a sizable portion of the electricity they run on is generated by coal-fired powerplants.)
So are you proposing ending attempts to change from petroleum powered engines because there are challenges with other forms of motive power? If so, then what DO you propose? And may I ask what forms of transportation you use?
Don't get me wrong. I am ALL FOR efforts to save the only planet we will ever have. But we all must also recognize that it will involve an incredible amount of expense, research and efforts by ALL of us if we are to succeed. Science has made tremendous progress, but it's also true that we have a VERY LONG way to go.
I believe that the BEST thing we can do to find real solutions happens at the ballot box by supporting and voting for people who will seek solutions in sensible legislation. And, because MONEY and PROFITS too often dictate actions supported or opposed by our lawmakers and their corporate donors, we all need to carefully consider which companies we buy from.
The challenges are huge, and our efforts will reflect how many and what kinds of sacrifices will be required from ALL of us. Unfortunately, there are no easy, quick solutions to a problem that has been building for centuries. And extemes on either side won't help.
Well said, Lee.