Howdy Friends, Three citizens from West Yellowstone, a small gateway community outside the western edge of Yellowstone National Park, are in Washington D.C. as you read this. They are meeting with members of Congress, urging them to restore to Yellowstone the clean air and quiet that once defined our first national park. These three business owners are testifying that their community's economic well-being depends on Yellowstone's environmental health. Specifically, they are encouraging a phaseout of snowmobiles in the park and a shift to cleaner, quieter snowcoaches. The National Park Service is considering this transition as a way to reduce chronic air and noise pollution and to comply with popular laws like the Clean Air Act. These citizens say a less-damaging form of access into the national park is also the best way to assure that tourists will continue to visit and support their businesses. There could hardly be better messengers than these three individuals from West Yellowstone who have traveled across the country to the nation's capitol. They are making the strong statement that Yellowstone's health is vital to their future -- that environmental health goes hand in hand with economic health. The snowmobile lobby and a handful of powerful business chains that control West Yellowstone have tried for months to ignore this perspective and to instead cast West Yellowstone's economic fortunes as dependent on snowmobiling in the park. Standing up in this climate and carrying a more accurate picture to Washington D.C. takes courage. We can support the work of these three citizens by sending our own emails to key senators who have great influence over Yellowstone's health and future. We can reinforce the message these citizens are delivering in Washington D.C. by emphasizing the link between environmental protection and economic prosperity. Please consider sending an email that affirms your interest in visiting Yellowstone (and spending money in its gateway communities) the moment the park's health and character are restored to what you expect in your national parks. Emails arriving as these three citizens finish their work in D.C. will help ensure that their message is taken seriously. Your email can help persuade the following senators of two crucial points: First, that people across the country want snowmobiles phased out of Yellowstone and replaced with snowcoaches in order to restore clean air and quiet in America's first national park. And second, that what is best for Yellowstone's health also happens to be the best way to assure that tourist-dependent towns near the park can thrive in the future. Sen. Max Baucus (MT) email: [log in to unmask] phone: (202) 224-2651 Sen. Conrad Burns (MT) email: [log in to unmask] phone: (202) 224-2644 Sen. Craig Thomas (WY) email: [log in to unmask] phone: (202) 224-6441 Please consider forwarding this email to five of your friends or colleagues who care about Yellowstone's future. THANK YOU! For more information about this message, please contact: Jon Catton at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition in Bozeman, Montana, [log in to unmask] or Betsy Buffington at The Wilderness Society, also in Bozeman, [log in to unmask] -- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Rex L. Bavousett Photographer University of Iowa Our old name: University Relations - Publications Our new name: University Communications & Outreach - Publications 100 OPL, Iowa City, IA 52242 http://www.uiowa.edu/~urpubs/ mailto:[log in to unmask] voice: 319 384-0053 fax: 319 384-0055 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]