Reprinted with permission from the Island Park News. This is in response to Tim Reynolds assessment, posted November 2 in the Post Register, regarding the community division in Island Park on the overpass issue, in which that particular part he is correct. However, his assessment as to the reason for that division is incorrect. Mr. Reynolds begins his comments with an insult to the community, suggesting support of overpasses is a “no-brainer”, implying that anyone who does not support his position for overpasses is…well without a brain. Perhaps he should consider that it is this type of attitude that is perpetuating his isolation from neighbors, and the hesitancy for others to engage in “thought-provoking” discussions. He provides a second affront by suggesting the inability for the other side to be “reasoned and reasonable”. But the other issue, and it is the primary issue, is the work that was conducted, starting many years ago, for the purposes of overpasses in Island Park. This work was hidden, and kept secret, from the Island Park community, starting with studies on Elk and Moose movement, clandestine meetings between the Idaho Transportation Department and Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) partners, meetings between those same groups and Idaho Fish & Game, the promotion of overpasses by a Y2Y created group, Island Park Safe Wildlife Passage Initiative (IPSWPI), the summer before the Hwy 20 project was ever announced to the public, and Mr. Reynolds himself being actively engaged with Y2Y. While Mr. Reynolds chastises the Island Park community for not engaging in a robust dialogue on overpasses, he himself, engaged in discussions with groups who chose to keep the whole activity secret. What a natural set up for a “us-versus-them” situation. There was no appearance of his making attempts for “working together” with Island Park citizens at that time. Why was he not doing that from the beginning? Along the same tenor, how ironic he chose to publish his thoughts in a city 80 miles away from the community. This is the primary reason for the division. Mr. Reynolds correctly stated relationships have changed in Island Park. However, those relationships have always been built on trust, honesty, and respect. Island Park citizens are bonded to each other and have a fierce loyalty to Island Park, protecting and preserving it. Any person who works in secrecy, violating those principles, is not going to be accepted well, and there is nothing wrong with that. For that reason, it is his relationship with others that has changed. Fortunately, the citizens have done their homework, discovered discrepancies in data, studied documentation about Y2Y and their intent to pursue connectivity goals with overpasses, and how they have engaged with state agencies behind the scenes. Any unwillingness to address all of this by Mr. Reynolds only serves to perpetuate the hesitation to engage with him, and others who support overpasses. As yet, nothing has been written or spoken about these particular aspects of overpasses by those who seek to have them built. Mr. Reynolds, the next time you choose to write about community division and wanting more open dialogue, start with the truth. The “community ethic” for honesty and truth has not left Island Park Mr. Reynolds. It is still there, waiting for you to speak the truth.
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Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
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