Old Faithful Fiasco (1999 to present)

Still Ugly. In 2005, Yellowstone shortened the 100-foot  cell phone tower overlooking Old Faithful Historic District by 20 feetto reduce “negative visual impacts and comments from the public.”

• Failed to publish a notice in the Federal Register alerting the public that they had received an application for a cell tower at Old Faithful.  Such notice was required under NPS Director’s Order 53A.  (Mysteriously, Yellowstone officials drafted a notice for the Federal Register, but never had it published.)
  

• Ignored the legislative history of Section 704(c) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which provides that Yellowstone would not be an “appropriate” site for cellular antennas or other facilities.  On three occasions NPS headquarters published notices that they would “take into account” this legislative history, but Yellowstone officials acted as if they were unaware of this policy directive from headquarters.

• Neglected to publish a notice in the Federal Register alerting the public that an Environmental Assessment of the Old Faithful cell tower proposal had been prepared and was now available for public review.  Such notice was required under the Park Service’s own internal procedures (RM53—Special Park Uses: Appendix 6, Exhibit 6, Page A6-49).

• Promised in the Environmental Assessment that the cell tower would be constructed “at a height not more than ten feet above the existing tree tops [burned lodgepole pines],” but did not take into account that most of the burned trees would fall over before the tower was even built [LINK OF3].

• Received just one comment from the public, but still considered that adequate public involvement.

• Issued a Right-of-Way (ROW) in 1999 for a “70-foot antenna tower” at Old Faithful, then unilaterally amended the ROW less than a year later to allow for a 100-foot tower. 

• Removed the top 20 feet of the tower in 2005 only after Wyoming’s historic preservation agency determined that the tower had an “adverse effect” on the Old Faithful Historic District.
  

• Pledged in the Park’s 2009 Wireless Plan to move the Old Faithful cell tower to a less visible site, but have made no progress in identifying such a site.  They signed a new ten-year Right-of-Way for the cell tower in 2010.  The Park expects to receive a “request for migration” from the cell phone company sometime before the expiration of the ROW in 2020.

Look at a detailed timeline for the Old Faithful cell tower.