No skiing below Pebble Creek

Man, if the rejected post was vitriolic and this post was not, the 1st must have been pretty informative

No, that was my first post and I'm surprised they let it through eventualy. Kudos to them for allowing some dissent. I purposely made it vitiolic to test their tolerance for free speech!

In case you didn't check out the website ( rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com ) given by RangerKevin below, this is what the website says:

"And finally, don't miss the vigorous discussion going on at turns-all-year.com, initiated by an unidentified Meadow Rover who attempted to explain why skiing can create problems on the lower elevation trails at Paradise this time of year (due to thin snow, large crowds, and the need to establish routes where the trails will be as they melt out). The discussion is lively and wide-ranging; hopefully, it will lead to a better understanding of why we have regulations in place to protect the meadows, and ideas about how we can better convey that message to people visiting the park.

Clearly, our Meadow Rovers are playing a vital role right now--not always an easy one, or even a universally popular one. But you have only to look at Hank and Judy's pictures above to see why it's so important. Thank you all for your hard work on behalf of our Mountain!"

_*edit*

Looks pretty obvious to me that the damage was DEFINITELY cause by those ski/snowboarder folk... :

Yep, just what you would expect. Self-congratulatory.
We finally get a response from Kevin at NPS. We are so delighted, we effuse over their kindness to have replied and then when you want to expand the conversation they retreat.
I've worked for the government( on construciton projects for them) for nearly 20 years and the only thing that makes them listen and change is to carry a big stick and use it.
The big stick being their funding scource, litigation and negative PR.

I don't mean to stir the pot too vigorously, but the second of those photos (I had to go to the blog to see a larger version) depicts a scene in which the obvious snow patches are easily connected with what appear to be meadow-protecting and solid isthmuses.

Anyone got any photos of the usual line down from the base of Pan Point to the visitor's center, which I assume is the primary concern? Discussions like this one are often improved with the addition of solid and agreed-upon data.

I concur with Scotsman's general assessment that squeaky wheels receive grease. Reasoned dialog's awesome whenever user groups/resource demands come into conflict.

Thanks to the rangers for their replies!

Hello again -- a common theme in these postings is how to effectively communicate with those who have the authority to explain or modify park policy. Let me provide a few suggestions.

First, the caveat: all of us are extremely busy, especially this time of year, and it's hard to keep up with our e-mail and phone messages, so please don't take offense if it takes a while to get a response from someone. It's not disregard, it's just lack of time. Your concerns are very important, but we also are busy keeping the park running day-to-day as well. (I've been interrupted by about five phone calls in the short time I've been writing this.) Plus, we're the government, and so things inherently move slower than they do in the real world.  Please be patient! (The winter season is often a better time to discuss policy, because we have fewer distractions from front-line operations.)

Now, the names and numbers: Our Wilderness Manager is Steve Klump, 360-569-2211 ext. 3304. He coordinates policy and enforcement parkwide and is the best person to talk to with your concerns. My recommendation would be to elect one person to do so rather than having a dozen people call him about the same thing! He should be open to chatting with you or setting up a time to do so, either by phone or even in person. I can't guarantee that he'll promptly change any policies, but he's a good guy and I'm fairly certain he'll give you an honest hearing.

Steve's boss is our Chief Ranger, Chuck Young, 360-569-2211 ext. 3300. But he'll probably just refer you to Steve if you haven't talked to him already. Chuck will get involved if you have issues involving changing park policy. His boss is Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, 360-569-2211 ext. 2301. Dave is incredibly busy, and again will refer you down the chain of command if you haven't talked to them already. But he has the final say about park-level regulations (those that aren't superceded by, say, Federal regulations or legislation).

There are many ways to contribute to a discussion of issues. This is a great forum, and once we're alerted that something relevant to our operation is being discussed, we do follow the discussion. My volunteer program blog at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com permits comments on the topics posted there, and I welcome feedback; I've also set up a Yahoo discussion group for volunteers, which is linked on the right-hand side, where you can discuss your own issues related to volunteering just as you can here on topics related to skiing. Some of us, like Gator and I, feel that this is where we need to go for a more responsive government. But it does take time and a shift in work priorities to keep up with, and again, we're the federal government, so change comes slowly!

I've avoided answering some of the specific questions that have been posted here because, frankly, I don't know the answers with enough certainty. I recommend contacting Steve and getting the answers to your satisfaction, then posting them here. Good luck and keep the conversation going!

Thanks for the information.
Do you have e-mail addresses for the following gentlemen you mention.
Steve Klump
Chuck Young
Dave Uberuaga
It's difficult to get through at times on the phone and the whole world seems to communicate by e-mail these days.
Thanks