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RULE CHANGES SOUGHT Whitewater enthusiasts eye park use By JOE KOLMAN Gazette Bozeman Bureau BOZEMAN - The National Park Service should grant whitewater boaters access to Yellowstone National Park rivers, supporters of the proposal said at a public hearing Wednesday night. John Gangemi of American Whitewater, the group asking the Park Service to open four stretches of park rivers to non-commercial use, said no users, including motorists, anglers and snowmobilers, should leave a trace of having visited Yellowstone. "No one should be allowed to have any impact on natural resources," Gangemi said, adding that boaters would have some of the highest standards of all park users. "They want it to look as pristine as possible," Gangemi said. "They want to preserve that resource." Nice thought, but not realistic, said several in the audience of 50 who attended the evening meeting. "We always have an impact - humans degrade," said Dick Dolan, a Bozeman attorney who worked for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition in the late 1980s, the last time boating in Yellowstone was an issue. River boating has been banned in the park since 1950. Boating would be a fine Yellowstone activity if the park's slate of uses could be wiped clean, some said. Limit the number of visitors and anglers. Cut down on vehicles and horse traffic. Eliminate snowmobiles. "There are just too many strains put on what is the premiere park in our country," said Michael Scott of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. American Whitewater submitted a 300-page proposal to Yellowstone Superintendent Michael Finley last November asking for boating to be allowed on 45 miles of river, approximately 5 percent of the total river miles in the park. Members of the group say boaters have the same right to use the rivers as hikers do the trails, and Yellowstone is the only national park where boating is banned. "These rivers are prime for whitewater recreation," said Jason Robertson, access director for the group. Park officials have said a 1988 report, which said boating could harm wildlife, addressed the boating issue and there are not plans to review it, regardless of American Whitewater's request. But members of the group say the 1988 report was inadequate and did not take into account the opinions of whitewater enthusiasts. While American Whitewater touts resource conservation as one of its priorities and is proposing limited and regulated use of the Yellowstone rivers, the proposal has rankled environmental groups that at times have sided with American Whitewater on other issues. Judy Brawer of American Wildlands called the boating proposal a very "me" attitude. "Me, me, me. What's fair to me?" Brawer said. "What's fair to the park?" Dolan said American Whitewater's proposal is hurting overall conservation efforts. "We have enough battles to fight," Dolan said. "This one divides the community."
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