NATION IN BRIEF : THE ROCKIES : Yellowstone Timber Hauling Prohibited

The National Park Service will not allow commercial timber hauling through Yellowstone Park, despite a request by the U.S. Forest Service. Parks Director James Ridenour denied the request as environmentalists labled the decision the first big test of Ridenour’s willingness to protect the parks from commercial assault. Ridenour was concerned that a lumber company’s plan to transport about 20,000 truckloads of logs through the park would have adverse impacts on important grizzly bear, elk and bison habitats as well as roadways, said a spokesman. The timber to have been hauled is from trees partially burned by fires in the park last year.