cooke city parking area!!!!!!!!!

[wyosleder]

Dear Fellow Snowmobiler & Club Members,

It has been brought to the Snowmobile Clubs attention that the Beartooth area is on
the radar again however, with a twist. Park County’s agreement with the Forest
Service to plow the highway from the Chief Joseph Highway Junction to Pilot Creek
and the Pilot Creek parking lot expired in 2004. This also includes the little bit
of Highway 212 towards the warming hut in the Beartooths. The County wants a new
agreement with the Forest Service and the State of Wyoming that would protect them
against liability.

No one really claims the ownership to the roadway. The National Park Service
provides summer maintenance as an access route to the park but that is where it
ends. The Forest Service does not want the responsibility and we aren’t sure the
state or the county wants to take ownership either.

At this point the road and parking lot are not being plowed. If this continues it
will close the area. The state trails program will not be able to get to the
grooming equipment and the public can’t get to the parking lot to park their
trailers. Access to the Pilot Creek trailhead is extremely important for the
Beartooth snowmobile trail system. This trail system makes a significant
contribution to the winter economy in our area.

I have been in contact with representative of the Forest Service (Terry Root) as
well as Park County Commissioner (Tim French) and the County Engineer (Dave Kieper).
Each one of them has urged that we as a club and individuals contact anybody we can
to help resolve this issue. It appears to me that the bureaucracy between the Forest
Service and the County is what is keeping some sort of agreement from being reached.


The Forest Service is going to provide a “Memorandum of Understanding” for Park
County to review by tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday). Depending on the content and
form of the Memorandum the Forest Service and County may or may not be at a
resolution point. If something isn’t done quickly then we will lose our trail system
in the Beartooths and access to the Cooke City area as well.

Here are some people that I would suggest you contact:
Park County Commissioners:
Tim A. French - Chairman (tfrench@parkcounty.us)
754-5420 (home)
Bill Brewer - Vice Chairman (bbrewer@parkcounty.us) 587-5741 (home)
Jill Shockley Siggins (jsiggins@parkcounty.us) 587-3901
(home)
Marie Fontaine (mfontaine@parkcounty.us)
587-2968 (home)
Bucky Hall (bhall@parkcounty.us)
587-3684 (home)
Admin. Assistant: Peggy A. Ruble
527-8510 (Commissioner Office)

Dave Kieper (dkieper@parkcounty.us) – County Engineer – 527-8520

Jim Davis (jdavis@parkcounty.us) – Assistant County Attorney – 527-8660

Terry Root (troot@fs.fed.us) – Shoshone Forest District Ranger- 527-6921

Also see the attached Beartooths Briefing Paper from the Trails Work Consultant.

We are asking that you either call these people or send them an urgent email with
your concerns ASAP. We really need the Forest Service and the County to come to an
agreement soon!!! The more snow that falls the less likely anything will get plowed
this season and snowmobiling will be over!

Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated.

 

[firecatguy]

will be calling

 

[bunnyboy]

What should one say in the email or call?

Ask them to come to a resolution soon? or how it's coming ?

 

[LSB]

The local club here will be speaking up as well.

 

[DRAFTINGMAN]

E-mailed !!!

I already dropped them a note!! THanks for
Keeping us posted!!

 

[Keepup]

just dropped them a email...thanks for the heads up.

 

[mwboondockers]

Sent them an e-mail. Keep us posted on the status. Thanks

 

[BNBNKIDS]

update on Cooke City area parking

I received a phone call from Park County Commissioner Bucky Hall and Shoshone Forest Service Supervisor Becky Aus today regarding the situation we are currently facing with Hwy 212 to Pilot Creek being plowed. They both assured me that they are doing everything they can to come to an agreement on this issue. They both realize the importance and the urgency of this matter to snowmobiling and Park County itself.

Later this afternoon I received a phone call from Shoshone Forest District Ranger Terry Root and he told me that he personally delivered the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to the Park County Commissioner office and he is very optimistic that the wording in the MOU will be acceptable to Park County.

It is my hope that we should hear some more news (hopefully good) about this issue very soon and maybe even tomorrow (Thursday).

 

[squarehead55]

Sounds good BNBKIDS, Kudos to everyone who made phone calls or emailed the appropriate people, that's what it takes, the squeaky wheel get's the grease

 

[151Viper]

Thanks guys. We plan on using that road next month.

 

[LSB]

It is my understanding that this issue will be resolved to everyones satisfaction. It seems as though some bureacratic languaging was the holdup. For now I still have received calls from people wanting to know how they can travel in that way. I am under the assumption that you can still drive in and that you may just have to park on the road somewhere.

 

[SnowSnob]

I basically grabbed all the emails given and said what a devasation it would be for Cooke if they didn't plow the road.
If anyone should be writing to these people it should be the mid west boys since they use it the most.

 

[ArcticCat1]

I dont understand why they dont want to clear out that road? Cooke City is gonna be so crowded without that parking lot. It was crowded the way it was last year in Cooke City at about Christmas time. Its gonna be a lot worst if they dont clean out that parking lot. What do we do when their isnt anywhere else to park in CC?

 

[SnowSnob]

I got this email today:

To all Cody Snowmobile Club members and Cooke City Snowmobile club members and all other Snowmobile Enthusiasts;

Today the Board of the County Commissioners held a special meeting in regard to the Memorandum of Understanding - Snowmobile Trail Management that you have heard about for the last couple of days.

At this meeting they approved and signed the Memorandum of Understanding between Park County, Wyoming Board of County Commissioners, US Forest Service, Shoshone National Forest, State of Wyoming, and the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources State Trails Program.

The snow plowing should begin right away.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the County Commissioners (Bucky Hall, Marie Fontaine, Tim French, Jill Siggins, and Bill Brewer), County Engineer (Dave Kieper), County Attorney (Brian Skoric), Shoshone Forest District Ranger (Terry Root) and Shoshone Forest Supervisor (Becky Aus) for their hard work in coming to an agreement on the MOU and understanding the needs of snowmobilers as well as how much this trail system contributes to the winter economy of Park County and Cooke City.

I would also like to thank all the members of the Cody & Cooke City snowmobile clubs and also the members of the Wyoming Snowmobile Association for your emails and phone calls in this matter.

Thanks again,
Bert Miller
Cody Country Snowmobile Association President

 

[PCDOC]

Great job and thanks for the updates.

 

[foxhound]

Thanks for the update.