US Budget Cuts Force Yellowstone to Delay Opening
CODY, WYOMING — During the first full week of March
every year, the mountain passes of Yellowstone National Park rumble with the sounds of hulking
snow plows operated by two dozen, mostly seasonal workers. This month, the plows
will be silent.
The costly and complex road-clearing operation that was
scheduled to start on Monday will be postponed this year because of the U.S.
government's across-the-board budget cuts known as the "sequester," which took
effect on Friday.
Park managers have to trim $1.75 million from
Yellowstone's $35 million annual budget, which will delay the opening of most
entrances to America's first national park by two weeks. Park managers will give
more details on Monday.
Local tourism industry leaders are not happy with
the decision. A delay in the park's traditional early May opening and other
service reductions could mean millions of dollars in lost tourism and tax
revenues for small, rural towns in Montana and Wyoming.
"I think it's
counterproductive, and I expect a lot of people to be raising hell," said Mike
Darby, whose family owns the Irma Hotel in downtown Cody, Wyoming, at the east
gate of Yellowstone.
Built in 1902 by frontier showman Buffalo Bill
Cody, the hotel is decorated with bison heads and hunting rifles. The business
survives the lean winter months by drawing local customers to its restaurant and
Silver Saddle Lounge, where cowboys meet for a beer on weekends.
A
two-week delay in Yellowstone's opening means Cody will miss out on more than
150,000 visitors spending an estimated $2.3 million, according to figures
released by the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. Similar shortfalls in four
other gateway towns around the park could put total losses from a two-week
delayed opening at more than $10 million.
Beyond Yellowstone, the National Parks Conservation
Association has warned that a $110 million cut to the National
fuente. La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/us-budget-cuts-force-yellowstone-to-delay-opening/1614147.html
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