Opponents to extending cell and wireless service at Yellowstone contend that the towers never should have been allowed in the first place. The signal they emit can spill into hiking trails away from developed areas, critics say.
"This is a commercial service that is using public resources and land," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The introduction of wireless service is an added insult, he said. "The park service is saying unplug and connect with nature -- but when you come, you can check your e-mail and trade stocks."
Yellowstone does not permit televisions in its hotel rooms, but officials contend that wireless Internet is different. "It's a way to get information," Ollitt said. For example, visitors could research bison after seeing them in the park.
Snapping photos of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on a recent afternoon, Bic Ngo brightened when he heard the park might introduce wireless.
"I'd love to get my pictures on Facebook tonight," said Ngo, 33, of Toronto.
But Ngo wasn't sure how many modern conveniences should be available in the park. He liked the idea of a place where no one could track him down by cellphone.
"It's kind of nice to not be located," Ngo said.
At Old Faithful, Dan Harrison sat on a bench, waiting for the geyser to erupt. He had turned off his phone and wasn't happy to hear that there were places in the park where it might work.
"It destroys everything that's here," said Harrison, 50, who drives a bus in a Canadian park in Alberta. "People are talking and yakking rather than watching this."
Nearby, Cole Hauser, 25, and Shawn Stufflebean, 23, were talking excitedly on their cellphones, waving at the Web camera perched in a tree in front of the geyser.
The two had recently left Wichita, Kan., to find work in Wyoming's energy industry, and the connectivity in Yellowstone allowed them to talk to their families for the first time in days.
"I don't know why people would be against it," Hauser said. "There are a lot of people here who are far from their families."
---
nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com
