{"id":1468,"date":"2012-02-22T15:21:24","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T22:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yellowstonegate.com\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2012-03-21T16:44:30","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T22:44:30","slug":"longterm-comprehensive-plan-will-guide-development-of-yellowstone-lake-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yellowstonegate.com\/?p=1468","title":{"rendered":"Long-term comprehensive plan will guide development of Yellowstone Lake area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lake Hotel, lower left, is dwarfed by the expanse of Yellowstone Lake and the surrounding mountains of Yellowstone National Park. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Ruffin Prevost<\/h3>\n

CODY, Wyo. \u2014 Visitors are drawn to Yellowstone National Park’s Lake Hotel and the surrounding area for its expansive views, sweeping shoreline and historic structures. Spawning Yellowstone cutthroat trout use the streams emptying into Yellowstone Lake, and the fish attract grizzly bears.<\/p>\n

Figuring out how to maintain and update developed facilities while preserving those natural attractions is the goal of a draft comprehensive long-range plan for Fishing Bridge, the Lake area and Bridge Bay released this month by the National Park Service.<\/p>\n

Development, renovations and improvements around the Lake area will be guided by the long-term comprehensive plan and environmental review, a relatively new way of approaching planning within the park.<\/p>\n

“This plan may be different than some in the past,” lead planner Alicia Murphy told a small gathering at a meeting in Cody earlier this month.<\/p>\n

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Lake Hotel, as seen from Yellowstone Lake, is the oldest standing hotel in Yellowstone National Park. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Comprehensive plans include design standards, zoning and other elements that haven’t always been a part of environmental reviews of developed areas in Yellowstone, she said. The Tower-Roosevelt area was the first in the park to undergo a comprehensive plan, while Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs and Lake are in that process now.<\/p>\n

The idea is to consider a wide range of factors and potential future possibilities and changes over a relatively broad developed area, said\u00a0 Eleanor Clark, chief of comprehensive planning for Yellowstone. As environmental factors or visitor use patterns change, the plan should give managers options for addressing those changes.<\/p>\n

The 700-acre planning area hugs the northern shoreline of Yellowstone Lake and covers six distinct zones: Fishing Bridge, an administrative area at Lake, Lake Lodge, Lake Hotel, the lakeshore itself and Bridge Bay and its marina.<\/p>\n

The iconic yellow Lake Hotel takes center stage in the minds of many frequent Lake area visitors.<\/p>\n

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Built in 1891 and expanded and remodeled in 1903, Lake Hotel is the oldest standing hotel in Yellowstone National Park. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Built in 1889 by the Northern Pacific Railroad as a plain, clapboard structure, Lake Hotel is the oldest surviving hotel in any national park. It was expanded and remodeled in 1903 by architect Robert Reamer, who also designed the Old Faithful Inn built that same year. Reamer added large porticoes supported by ionic columns, transforming Lake Hotel into a Colonial Revival landmark.<\/p>\n

Comments from earlier scoping meetings have focused on preserving Lake Hotel and the vistas around the lake, Murphy said.<\/p>\n

“The beauty of what you see is something we’re passionate about,” she said. “”People love the lake and they want to keep the serenity and tranquility of that area.”<\/p>\n

Among the changes proposed in the National Park Service’s preferred alternative as outlined in the draft plan are:<\/p>\n