Yellowstone Park visits soar in August

All time visitation record for a month-

With the sorry economy it is surely good we have Yellowstone Park in our area. Visit are also up at Grand Teton NP.

Yellowstone visits soar. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily.

3/4 billion dollars stimulus funds now spent on national parks

About $15-million on Yellowstone-

My opinion.

Anyone who has traveled extensively will find many Park and public land projects were originally built with stimulus funds from the Great Depression. You will often find a cabin, amphitheater, trail, etc. was built by the New Deal’s CCC or WPA.  Despite the controversy over the stimulus funds for the “great recession,” similar projects have finally been undertaken 75 years later.

Story. Biden touts stimulus projects in national parks. By Matt Volz.  Associated Press Writer

A nearly complete reversal on idea to close Idaho State Parks System

There was almost no political support for the governor’s original plan-

Idaho Parks and Recreation Board reverses park closures. Shuttering parks ‘is not the direction the state should be headed,’ says Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston. ‘Not now. Not ever.’ By Cynthia Sewell. Idaho Statesman. “We had a paradigm shift,” said board Chairman Steve Klatt of Sagle.

Of course, they will have to try to fund a larger portion not using appropriated state money.

NYT uses Boise to illustrate the recessionary spiral and its aftermath

The importance of this feature article is how irrelevant the governor and the rural dominated legislature are to the economic well being of most Idahoans-

Free Fall’s Over, but Where Are We Landing? By Peter S. Goodman. New York Times.

This article is a bit unusual for this blog, but a continuing theme here is that Idaho politics and its economic policy is dominated by a landed (almost feudal) elite with beliefs that were out of date 50 years ago. Idaho’s political system contains an incredible amount of inertia, and it shows up not just in wildlife policy and politics.

The recession in Idaho’s effect and efforts to fight have depended almost entirely on what the Administration does or doesn’t do. That’s my take.

Ralph Maughan

Wolves are bringing tourists and money to Montana

This is based on the work of University of Montana economist John Duffield.

Wolf tourism in Yellowstone region. Wolves are bringing tourists and money to Montana.

Update: Here is Duffield’s original paper in the Jan. 2008 issue of Yellowstone Science.

duffield-economic-impacts.pdf