Glacier Intends to Retain Red Bus Fleet - Makes Modifications to Concessions Prospectus

The National Park Service announced yesterday that it was modifying the terms of a prospectus for the concessions operations at Glacier National Park to reinforce the park's intention to retain the operation of the entire fleet of red buses while providing safe, informative and memorable experiences for Glacier National Park visitors.

Acting Glacier National Park Superintendent Kym Hall said, "We love the red buses and our intent has been to retain this iconic symbol of the park."

Changes to the prospectus clarify how maintenance and rehabilitation of the bus fleet will occur. The newly selected concessioner will be responsible for the management and upkeep of the red buses. The National Park Service owns all the existing 33 historic red buses in the fleet. Through the terms of the pending concessions contract, the National Park Service intends to monitor the condition of the red buses and rehabilitate the buses as needed over the course of the 16-year contract. Hall said that modifications of the prospectus for the new concessions contract are being developed to clarify those requirements. The modifications to the prospectus will be posted on the agency's commercial services website in mid-February.

Hall said, "We appreciate the advocacy for the red buses by the Glacier Park Foundation and others, and their dedication to preserving the fleet of 33 iconic and historic buses."

As the historic buses age, rehabilitation work is required to keep the fleet safe and operational. The buses have 1930s-era bodies adapted to modern chassis. It is recognized that the required custom rehabilitation work on the buses will be very expensive.

A complete and custom restoration of the buses was last completed in 2002 with the generous assistance of the Ford Motor Company through the National Park Foundation. At that time the cost for the rehabilitation of the buses was more than $6 million dollars.

Hall said, "We want to maintain and continue the tradition of the iconic red buses on the road in Glacier National Park."


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Yellowstone Proposes Campground Fee Rate Increase

Yellowstone National Park is seeking public comment on a proposal to increase the daily fee charged to stay in campgrounds operated by the National Park Service.

For the Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris campgrounds which have flush toilets, the daily fee would be increased from $14 to $20.

At Tower Fall, Lewis Lake, Indian Creek, Pebble Creek, and Slough (slew) Creek campgrounds which have vault toilets, the daily camping fee would go from $12 to $15.

Individuals who hold a Senior Pass or Access Pass would continue to receive a 50-percent discount on camping fees charged at these National Park Service operated campgrounds.

Under the current rate structure, Yellowstone's campground fees are lower than those charged by local commercial operators, neighboring National Forests, and Grand Teton National Park for campgrounds with similar facilities.

The Bridge Bay, Canyon, Grant, and Madison campgrounds and the Fishing Bridge RV Park in Yellowstone are operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Daily camping fees at these sites range from $20.50 to $45.00. They would not be affected by this proposal.

An electronic form to submit comments on the internet can be found online here. Comments may be submitted through the website, in person, or by mail to Visitor Services Office, Attention: Campground Fee Rate Increase, National Park Service, and P. O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. All comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, February 28, 2013.

Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail, and submitted responses may be made publicly available at any time.

This would be the first camping fee increase in nine years. Yellowstone National Park is planning to implement these rate increases on May 1, 2013.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Saving Glacier's Iconic Red Buses

A new concessions contract calls for replacing more than half of the iconic red tour buses in Glacier National Park with alternative fuel vehicles by 2029. The proposal has many fans of the "jammers" concerned and upset, including the Glacier Park Foundation, a non-profit organization comprised of former and current Glacier Park employees and visitors.

The new concession contract calls for the complete rehabilitation of at least 15 buses, and the replacement of the remaining 18 buses with alternative fuel vehicles by 2029.

As a result, the Glacier Park Foundation has posted this plea for help on their Facebook page:

The National Park Service is seeking tenders for a concessioner to operate its facilities in Glacier National Park. The proposed concession contract would see 18 of the 33 Red buses decommissioned and replaced with new vehicles. This decision was made without any consultation with the public.

The Glacier Park Foundation wants to see the Red bus fleet remain intact. Bidding for the concession closes March 14. The foundation urges all its members and fans of Glacier to raise their voices in any manner they can, including contacting the National Park Service, and Montana state and federal officials. Let them know you oppose any breakup of the Red bus fleet and are requesting a delay in the concession contract process until the matter has been aired in public.

NPS proposal: http://www.concessions.nps.gov/glac002-14.htm

Montana officials:
Sen. Tester: www.tester.senate.gov
Congressman Daines: www.daines.house.gov
Gov. Bullock: www.governor.mt.gov
Sen. Baucus: http://www.baucus.senate.gov/ | maxbaucus@earthlink.com

Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Yellowstone Harnesses Hydropower…Again

More than a century after U.S. Army troops harnessed the power of flowing water to light Fort Yellowstone, the park is generating electricity from water again.

The idea of tapping into a sustainable resource to power Yellowstone came to the park in 1903, when the U.S. Cavalry under the direction of engineer Hiram Chittenden installed the first 100-kilowatt water turbine generator near its Mammoth Hot Springs headquarters. Relying on water flowing from Glen Creek down through Golden Gate, the power plant supplied ample energy to power residences, administrative offices, maintenance shops, lights on the parade grounds and the occasional picture show at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to great attendance. There was even a little left over to sell to concessioners.

Commercially supplied energy has long powered the lights in Yellowstone. But a new spin on the same century-old technology is not only adding a few hundred extra kilowatts of free, home-grown power to what's already being supplied by the grid. It's also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 800 metric tons each year. The park's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2016.

Much like the 1903 hydropower plant and a second version that was constructed in Mammoth in 1911, the new Mammoth micro hydro plant relies on naturally-occurring water dynamics. It captures energy from the water that flows approximately 560 feet downhill from the combined Gardner River, Panther Creek and Indian Creek water intakes on Swan Lake Flats to the existing storage reservoir at Mammoth's water treatment plant through an existing 12-inch pipe. A newly-installed generator and turbine rely on an average water flow volume of 4 cubic feet per second to produce electricity.

Construction on the electrical station housing the new generator and turbine at the reservoir inlet was completed by Montana-based Dick Anderson Construction. The power plant was officially brought on line last December.

The first hydropower plant located at Mammoth Hot Springs completed in 1903, and the newly constructed micro hydro system brought online last December:

The new plant is expected to generate an average of 175 kilowatts of energy depending on the normal fluctuation of the water supply, though it is capable of producing up to 230 kilowatts. Based on an "up-time" of 80 percent (20 percent calculated for maintenance down time), that equates to more than 1.2 million kilowatt hours supplied to the park each year.

The new technology also allows for this fully sustainable energy source to be synchronized directly with Northwestern Energy's electric grid, providing a savings to the park's electrical bill of approximately $73,000 annually.

The project was funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds at a cost of $1.1 million and is expected to pay for itself in about 12 years.

One hundred years ago, Chittenden's ingenious, independent green power source provided valuable energy to Yellowstone residents' homes and workspaces. Now that nostalgic thinking is working to ease Yellowstone's energy consumption and help preserve the park's valuable natural resources for generations to come.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Grand Teton National Park Trails Worker Dies in Avalanche

Rangers began a recovery mission yesterday morning for the body of a backcountry skier who died in an avalanche on Sunday, January 27th. Nick Gillespie, 30, of Jackson, Wyoming, was caught in an avalanche on the southeast face of Survey Peak in the northern Teton Range about 5 p.m. Sunday and died as a result of injuries suffered in the slide.

Gillespie was a long-time seasonal employee of Grand Teton National Park who’d worked on the park’s trail crew for the past six years, and before that had worked for Rocky Mountain NP, and the Willamette and Lassen National Forests. There were three people with him at the time of the accident, one a fellow seasonal trails worker at Grand Teton, but none was injured.

Rangers enlisted the assistance of the Teton County Search and Rescue contract helicopter and crew for the recovery mission. Teton Interagency helitack personnel assisted with a temporary helibase established near Colter Bay, 25 miles north of Moran Junction. Four rangers were inserted into Berry Creek canyon on Monday about 11 a.m. Recovery of Gillespie’s body and an investigation into the details of the incident are ongoing.

The avalanche danger on Sunday, January 27th, was listed as low in the morning, rising to moderate in the afternoon at elevations between 9,000 and 10,500 feet. Moderate danger means that natural avalanches are unlikely, but human-triggered avalanches are possible. However, the report also reported, “At upper elevations new snow and winds overnight and expected snow today will create the potential for backcountry users to trigger soft slabs or sloughs to a foot in depth by the afternoon.”


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park