“Jeff Ruch was paging through the results of a Freedom of Information Act request about a categorical upgrade to Yellowstone’s WiFi infrastructure earlier this year when he came across an exchange that suggested 100 trees had been felled within a recommended wilderness area.
The reason for the cutting, he learned, was that lodgepole pines that started regenerating after the 1988 fire season had grown high enough in the 31 years since that they started shading a passive reflector panel deemed critical to telecommunications infrastructure in the Old Faithful area.
“We’re wondering, ‘Who gave them permission, and what was the rationale?’” Ruch, the Pacific director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told the News&Guide.”
