slow park openings due to budget constraints

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peter303
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slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by peter303 »

I read here what Yeloowstone is doing: They will wait for natural snow melting rather than plow. That also delays rbinging on seasonal workers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html
Rocky Mountain National Park also said they might wait for natural meltingof trail Ridge Road. And close Glacier campground.
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edhaman
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by edhaman »

How does it cost $30,000 a day to run some snowplows? This is just the Obama administration choosing to cut in places that are calculated to make the most people upset so they put pressure on Congress to raise taxes (yet again) like Obama wants.
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TehWoopig
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by TehWoopig »

edhaman wrote:How does it cost $30,000 a day to run some snowplows? This is just the Obama administration choosing to cut in places that are calculated to make the most people upset so they put pressure on Congress to raise taxes (yet again) like Obama wants.
Precicely. The NPS in different locations requested that they make cuts where people will feel them less but higher ups denied those requests in favor for the ones that hurt the general public more so that they can "feel" the sequester cuts. It is all bull and politics.
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Steve Climber
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by Steve Climber »

I have to imagine that Yellowstone has a fleet of plows (a bit more magnitude than "some"). If you take the combined wages of the drivers and maintenance crews, fuel, sand/salt (if applicable), wear on blades, amortized cost of trucks themselves, insurance costs...I could easily see $30,000/day being plausible for something the size of Yellowstone...remember, they are potentially plowing 250+ miles of roads, parking lots, etc...It's not just a couple of guys in pickups.
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EatinHardtack
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by EatinHardtack »

And 'off route' forum here we come........ \:D/
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Steve Climber
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by Steve Climber »

EatinHardtack wrote:And 'off route' forum here we come........ \:D/
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I give exactly ZERO f***s about the political implications of this article/discussion...just wanted to point out "$30,000 a day to run some plows" seemed a bit oversimplified.

and with that, I'm off this one :-"
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by ulvetano »

The whole politics of this sequester thing is quite odd. Obama and congress agreed to it, it being a small cut of gov't expenditures, staggered over a period of time. Isn't that what's needed? So why are the Republican's crying about cuts? I also didn't understand why Obama did the last minute pitch to eliminate the cuts. 5% over 7 months? big deal. We'll get thru it. And limiting the snow plowing will just improve the overall ambiance and health of the park; allowing the animals a couple weeks of much wanted quiet; and any real hikers/skiers some more opportunity to explore without the traffic.
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by ajkagy »

get used to lack of fed funding until taxes or raised or new fees are put into place. It has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with math. Cuts will have to come from somewhere.

Look at the bright side, if you're fit and have touring/cross country skis you'll be able to have a quieter experience in the spring/early summer in a lot of these parks.
Last edited by ajkagy on Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by lordhelmut »

ajkagy wrote:get used to lack of fed funding until taxes or raised or new fees are put into place. It has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with math. Cuts will have to come to somewhere.

Look at the bright side, if you're fit and have touring/cross country skis you'll be able to have a quieter experience in the spring/early summer in a lot of these parks.
True.

One downside is, with a delay in Trail Ridge opening, some backcountry lines won't be accessible, and by the time the road does naturally open, the lines and bowls to ski will naturally be melted out. Kind of like Independence Pass opening and providing a ton of fun sidecountry options. Of course, thats a luxury, not a necessity.
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Scott P
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by Scott P »

...
Last edited by Scott P on Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dave B
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by Dave B »

ulvetano wrote:...and any real hikers/skiers some more opportunity to explore without the traffic.
I agree. TRR is 100% accessible by Hidden Valley or from the road closure. You just need the desire.
Make wilderness less accessible.
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ajkagy
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Re: slow park openings due to budget constraints

Post by ajkagy »

lordhelmut wrote:
ajkagy wrote:get used to lack of fed funding until taxes or raised or new fees are put into place. It has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with math. Cuts will have to come to somewhere.

Look at the bright side, if you're fit and have touring/cross country skis you'll be able to have a quieter experience in the spring/early summer in a lot of these parks.
True.

One downside is, with a delay in Trail Ridge opening, some backcountry lines won't be accessible, and by the time the road does naturally open, the lines and bowls to ski will naturally be melted out. Kind of like Independence Pass opening and providing a ton of fun sidecountry options. Of course, thats a luxury, not a necessity.
very true, I'm also wondering what the economic impact would be for say estes park if trail ridge road opening were delayed by a month. I imagine a lot of vacationers would skip going to RMNP in June if they knew they wouldn't be able to access trail ridge road.
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