A Letter to Washington

Over the course of this most current government shutdown, I've had the great pleasure of "meeting" a handful of passionate people in my fellow YNP gateway community of Cody, WY as well as getting to know a few neighbors right here in Gardiner a little bit better. Some of us may have differing political views and lifestyle ideas, but I've learned this week that at the end of the day our end goal is often the same - we are Americans, want to be proud to be so, and are frustrated by the feeling that this inalienable right is being taken from us one piece at a time. One of these new friends, Rick Satterthwaite of Cody, has been instrumental in the Protest for Yellowstone movement that is gaining steam in our area and penned the below letter to the elected officials of the United States government. Not to The House, The Senate or the Executive Branch, but to ALL of them. Whether you are left, right, moderate or out in the stands, Rick's letter is likely to ring true in more ways than you might think.

October 2013

To the 537 leaders of the United States of America: The President, The Vice President, The House of Representatives, and The Senate:

We are tired; We the People….we are tired. The weariness that is overtaking us feels like an invisible force wrapped around each one of us individually, and yet all of us collectively at the same time. It is the feeling that something familiar…something we trust…has begun to weigh us down, tug at us and pull us apart, to look us in the eye with assurance, while wrestling with us at every turn. Wrestling, not as two playmates might; but as an adversary. That adversary is you, 537 men and women we look to as leaders, as familiar, trustworthy leaders.
We were a small group in the wilderness, just in front of the gates of Yellowstone National Park. What brought us there was the desire to gain access to our friend, our park. However, what became obvious as We The People began to look around was much greater than Yellowstone; if one could imagine that. No, what was obvious was our weariness over you and your inability to lead on behalf of us.

From where We The People stood that day, in the wilderness, what we saw were men and women, 547 of you, fighting for yourselves, for your own agendas, your own power, your own egos…never truly thinking of We the People. We hear talk of not wanting to give the Republicans too much…not wanting to give the Democrats too much, never thinking that We The People are Republicans and Democrats, independents and libertarians. What we hear is that our democrat leaders do not want to give half of We The People too much. Our republican leaders do not want to give half of We The People too much. We are so weary of that!

John Kennedy once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” What happened to ideas like that? What happened to you as servants of We The people that it has to be a democrat or republican answer. Do you 537 not realize that those answers exclude half of We the People? Do you not realize it is making We The People weary? You lead us from one crisis to another; one cliff to another. You have become experts at pitting We The People against ourselves in order to give some portion of the 537 a victory, all the while making We The People more tired…more weary.

No, as that small portion of We The People gathered at the gates of Yellowstone, what we realized is that it is your inability to lead that has made We The People weary. Please stop! We are tired of fighting among ourselves; fighting in the way you 537 do…how you 537 lead We The People. Stop looking for the republican answer. Stop looking for the democrat answer. Look for the right answer. Look for the answer that will relieve the weariness of We The People.

Many of us, We The People, echo the prayer of Admiral Black last week when he asked you 537 men and women to come to grips with the shame you have caused in this great nation. Your behavior is selfish and shameful to We The People and we simply ask you to stop, look inward, and examine yourselves. Find a way to get beyond your party affiliation and dogmatic policy stances and look at us, We The People. Look from a position of humility, not power. Look from a position of weakness, not strength. Join us at Yellowstone’s gates and see We The People, not a voting-block, or district, or constituency. No, try to see us, weary as we are and understand that we deserve better than what you 537 are giving us. Stop tugging at us, stop pulling us apart, stop doing all the things we try to teach our children not to do and lead.

As We The People gather at the gates of Yellowstone, we were denied entrance because you 537 men and women shut down the government, our government. We stood there as you were huddled in Washington DC. Here is a thought from We The People that just might help you understand just how We The People are feeling right now. Do your jobs and fund the government. Do what you have to do to get past this latest crisis. Then shut it down again! Shut down every office, every hall, and every meeting room and come to Yellowstone. Come to the farmland of the Midwest. Come to the sprawling cities of the eastern seaboard. Come to the oil patches of the west and southwest. Come to the great forests of the Pacific North West. Come to We The People and just sit with us.

But do not go to your own districts, your own constituencies. Go where you are not familiar and sit with someone you have never sat with. Don’t take cameras and media people, just put on your jeans and come alone. How can you lead all of We The People if you have only sat with half of We The People? Imagine that! None of you 537 being lobbied, arguing your point, pitting half of us against the other half. Just take the fall and early winter off to sit with We The People and get to know us. The reconvene after the holidays and lead us together in the right way; the American way. What do you say? Meet us at the gates of Yellowstone and let us just sit together as We The People.

Rick, you are a true credit to the people of the mountain West.

The "Where to Live Dilemma"

Unfortunately I'm not talking about the fun and exciting "where to go?!" sort of dilemma. Rather, the one we face around is more like "Ok I'm here. Now where do I sleep?".

Having an economy based primarily(if not almost entirely....) on tourism, Gardiner has fallen into the same rut as other like places of seeing our housing options dwindle at an alarming rate. Just like everywhere else this has occurred, the 2 common culprits are increased demand and demand's(sometimes) evil counterpart, increase in price since the supply hasn't kept up. While of course there are always more intricacies involved in these matters than we see up front, I see a few big culprits. A few different categories, but similar result nonetheless:

1. There are fewer and fewer "old timers" - retired and/or elderly residents who have either lived here their entire lives, or at least a significant chunk of it. This population has decreased(2000 census notes 7.4% of our population as over 65, compared to the national average of over 12%) by their passing, moving in with their children or other family members, moving to assisted living, etc. When they do so, their homes and property often go to their children, who very often do not live here, nor do they want to. So, they decide to sell or rent.  If they opt to rent, they will inevitably learn about and consider the large sum of money to be had by not renting for a measly $500-$1000 a month when they can get that in a week from tourists. End Result: Vacation Rental
2.  If their option is to sell and their house is pretty much anything worth living in, it will more than likely be priced out of reach of many, many local residents(our median household income data was about $31,000 compared to the national average of just under $42,000 in 1999). End Result: Vacation/2nd Home
3. It's a small town, and as with many small towns, kids finish school and get the heck outta dodge. See #1. End Result: Parents house eventually becomes Vacation Rental or Vacation/2nd Home.

Granted, there are many more factors that come into play, but much of it is means to the same end. Areas like this are based on tourism because there is something that draws people here(proven by the fact that most of us are not from here!). With overall populations increasing**, that often means more people coming, which means a larger need for places for them to stay. No argument from me there(I wouldn't have a job without them!). But, the job doesn't do me much good if I don't have anywhere to live. Ironically, a good portion of my reason for moving back here was I was just plain sick and tired of needing 2 jobs just to get by in Steamboat Springs. **Note: Everywhere but here that is...my vacation rental takeover argument is firmly based in the fact that the residential population of our census block actually decreased from 1990-2000, with little change projected for 2010(per U.S. Census Bureau)

This growth phenomenon in towns like this can have some great benefits. An out of town investor has purchased 3 run-down local bars/restaurants in the last 2 years and done some wonderful things to renovate  and rejuvenate them. The out of town children of another property owner partnered with their dad to build a wonderful roof top patio bar that is great new place to hang out in the sun with a cold drink and amazing view. Another out of town couple tore out a long-vacant gas station and put in a little BBQ joint(with wonderful hash brown casserole at breakfast, I'm told!). These are great improvements, but they come with a price - the investor who purchased and renovated the 3 bars/restaurants also just purchased his 3rd house in the area, just before the sellers were about to rent it to a local family(with a clause to honor their lease if the house should sell). I have also seen friends need to leave their jobs because their landlords chose not the renew their lease to turn their property into a weekly rental. I have seen friends purchase mobile homes and trailers(often all one can afford to start off with), only to have the land they pay lot rent for sold off and built on. Most recently, an 8-unit apartment building was sold,and plans made known immediately via 30-day eviction notices that the building will be torn down. This last event leaves 8 individuals and families all looking for somewhere to live at the same time, a time which conveniently lines up with the spring influx of summer seasonal works also looking for a place to live. I by no means intend for this to be a slam to these investors/purchasers, as it's a great area to invest in and it's not for me to judge what people do with their resources(because I might do exactly the same thing if I had them!). It is, however, always sad to see another of the already limited residential properties go by the wayside, adding another tic to the growing number of vacation properties.

This is the point where I should not break the big rule of "No Bitch with No Fix"(or at least suggestion of fix!), but this one truly puts me at a loss....we are too small for a legitimate affordable housing program, we are too dependent upon the tourist industry to not provide for their demand, and the cost to purchase is quickly out-pacing income. Oh magic 8-ball, what do thee say?

Today's Dilemma - Trash!

I just got a new garbage can!

Ok, I completely understand why that probably doesn't elicit thoughts of excitement and wonder, but bear with me for a moment...you may find the subject to be more interesting than you might think.

Many people remember, or have heard stories of, the days when throngs of visitors gathered each night for the bear feeding "shows" held in Yellowstone National Park. Trash dumps were well known to both bears and guests, and people often fed bears hand to mouth. Unfortunately, bears are wild creatures, and this practice ultimately led to increased frequency and severity of bear attacks as the animals became habituated to human food and being fed. Thankfully, these "shows" were discontinued in the 1970s and visitors are now taught the familiar(well, to us at least!) mantra that "A fed bear is a dead bear".

Part of living in area dominated by wilderness, no matter how large or small the developed area within it, is learning how to co-habitat with area wildlife. In communities such as mine, that happen to have a very large wildlife preserve right next door, both the abundance and variety of said wildlife also increases. And where there are hungry animals, people and a quickly shrinking window of time before the long, cold winter, there are conflicts. Enter, the Trash Dilemma.

In addition to the feat of co-habitation and general management, Gardiner also has a few other uphill battles in fighting the Trash Dilemma. First, we are a rural community, with many facilities and services located a significant distance away. Second, we are small. Combine this with the distance and investment in time required to reach many services, this often makes the DIY attitude a necessity. One required DYI is just about anything involving trash disposal. Trash pick up, both commercial and residential, is only available if you personally contract with a private company to pick up your trash, and even finding this can be difficult because there aren't many willing to do it. Many of those that are willing are located 50-75 miles away in Livingston or Bozeman, making them a completely inefficient option for businesses like restaurants. This means that most of us have the "Trash Pass". This little pass (which I honestly have no idea how I get or why I need it...no one has EVER asked to see it) which entitles the resident or business to take their trash to the local dump....a big rectangle of chain link fence lined with green boxes, and one lone guy sitting in a folding chair who gives you a funny look if you slow down too much and look like you may not know to go to the box with the big red X on it. Maybe then he might check your pass, but if you look like you know what you're doing, he just waves and smiles.

No, the actual act of taking one's trash to the dump is not a big deal. If so, I'd suggest a persona laziness check. The problems with the dump lie with, first, that the bears like it, and black bears and grizzlies alike are perfectly capable of doing some damage to a chain link fence. Enough damage, in fact, that they had to temporarily electrify it this fall because they were not able to fully repair the remnants of a visit by a local grizzly bear.

Gardiner Dump's Fall Visitor

Talks are constant about the options to actually bear-proof the dump, and for the sake of other bears out there, I sincerely hope they figure out a workable solution, and soon.
Second big dump problem is that even the most efficient person, business or family can't typically get to the dump for each individual trash bag they fill. Keeping stuff in the mud room is just darn stinky and gross, and your plain old run-of-the-mill green garbage can just won't cut it. End result of using green garbage can? Leah driving up to the house at 11pm after a very long 2-job day and finding a very happy black bear sitting next to the back door, completely surrounded by contents of the green garbage can and happily nibbling away. Goodbye to good night's sleep that night since it was almost an hour before he wandered away and I could get to my door! He, and others, made many visits around the area this fall:

Mom and Cubs....meet Chickens and Horse!


Here's where the new garbage can comes in - we have a great organization here in town(led by one very motivated and passionate woman, Ilona Popper) called Bear Awareness Gardiner. The main goal of her organization is to provide, free of charge, bear-resistant garbage cans called "Unbearable Bins" to local residents. The funding for these is provided solely through donations and fundraising, and they are definitely getting out there! Coming up, they are also launching a campaign to assist local restaurants to install commercial bear-resistance recepticals. Go Bear Awareness Gardiner!

Due to the efforts of organizations such as Bear Awareness Gardiner, the Bear Creek Council, Yellowstone Country Guardians and diligence of local residents and businesses, fewer and fewer bears have or will be killed because they learned to eat trash. With effort, maybe we will be able to downgrade the Trash from a dilemma to just annoying one of these days.

Today's Dilemma - Yellowstone Bison

Bison Dilemma

by Leslie James Quinn on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:22pm

OK, I'll line up and let everyone take pot-shots at me. Are the bison that are rounded up and shoved around and sent to slaughterhouses treated in the most humane manner possible? No. But what is the solution?

If we allow the bison to roam completely freely, they will not all return to Yellowstone each summer. They will populate Paradise Valley, then move downstream on the Yellowstone River and Missouri River, and ultimately repopulate the Great Plains. And as alluring as that sounds, there are rather a lot of people dependent upon the wheat that we grow there. This is not a workable solution.

If we provide feed for the bison that have been captured, they will survive. And they and more will require feed in subsequent winters, and it will finally be thousands being fed there, no end in sight, and no longer any semblance of wild bison roaming in Yellowstone (animals are not wild if they are dependent upon humans for food).

A compromise, setting aside a certain area of land north, is a stopgap. Give it a few years and bison will be leaving it and moving down valley. I see no workable solution here.

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Photo by Beth Pratt - Director of Environmental Affairs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts in Yellowstone National Park

The bison of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are just the most recent subjects in the ever-evolving cycle of controversy that is bound to occur in a place like Yellowstone National Park - searching for the fine line between protection of the area and it's resources, and the protection of the economy and industry of the surrounding area.

Each of these debates to arise, from wolf reintroduction to brucellosis to bear management, has seemingly endless points of view. There are those who argue that the animals were here first and thus should be given free reign. There are those who argue that damage to the economy from loss of crops and livestock outweighs the who was here first argument. There are those just love the animals and want to help them without knowing the facts. There are those who just don't love the animals, and want them gone without knowing the facts. Somewhere in the middle there are always those of us who find ourselves in a quandary of understanding both sides and being at a loss in forming an opinion either way. Regardless of where you fall, it is a very real issue at hand when it comes to protecting the resources of our National Parks, and one well worth looking into a little deeper than most us already have.

Recent Articles and Updates

Buffalo Field Campaign



Yellowstone Insider - Bison Slaughter Debated in Court


Billings Gazette - Fort Peck Tribe Builds a Fence In Hopes of Getting Yellowstone Bison


Billings Gazette - Agency Representatives Outline Brucellosis Risks

Associated Press via MSNBC - Montana Governor Blocks Bison Slaughter


I can't, of course, attest to 100% accuracy of facts in listed articles, so read up, whet your interest, and check your facts before mounting an argument!