CODY - Residents and public officials from this tourist-dependent town on Thursday slammed a proposal to close the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park to motorized vehicles in winter due to avalanche danger.

More than 600 people packed a community meeting to criticize the closure proposal as unnecessary and a danger to the local economy.

Over the past several years, animosity against park administrators has grown in communities like Cody as the park imposed new restrictions on snowmobiles and backcountry travel. The proposal to close the east entrance through Sylvan Pass, while affecting a relatively small number of businesses, has emerged as a flash point in that running dispute over the nation's first national park.

"This community is not going to go down easy on this one," said Cody resident and former Wyoming U.S. Sen. Al Simpson. "We're going to scrap. We're going to use every legal and political means at our disposal to make sure we do not lose this most precious resource."

The National Park Service plans to release its latest draft winter management plan for Yellowstone on March 27. Prior plans have been overturned in court.

Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis, who had asked to address the forum, told participants that the east entrance closure is not yet final and that comments made Thursday will factor into the final winter use plan.

But she also stuck fast to assertions that park personnel responsible for maintaining the pass are at risk if it remains open. Park officials have said at least one ranger suffered a near-miss on the pass during an avalanche, although no deaths have occurred.

"In Yellowstone National Park, the safety buck stops on my desk," Lewis said. "When I look at risk management, it's about addressing safety issues and reducing the risk so that a tragedy never occurs."

Lewis said the closure would affect only motorized travel and that snowshoers and backcountry skiers still would be permitted access through the east entrance. She also rejected rumors that the pass closure was the first step in a broader plan to close the east gate altogether. She listed road repairs, visitor center upgrades and other improvements costing tens of millions of dollars as evidence of the park's commitment to public access.

But after Lewis' comments, one speaker after another drubbed the closure proposal.

"Scientists and environmentalists have decided the park is their own personal property, and the park service is a willing collaborator on their behalf," said Bob Berry of Cody, who works as a cook with a wilderness outfitter.

"You have to groom the roads to let the skiers in. Couldn't you let the snowmobiles in, too?" asked Gavin Greever, also of Cody. "The attitude of the park has changed. They're all a bunch of bunny-huggers."

And Maryanne Schultz of Wapiti, which is just outside the park's eastern border, said the closure would take away not only tourist dollars but also the opportunity for local families to enjoy Yellowstone.

"Our children will never know the freedoms we have had in the past," she said.

Different projections have been made on how the closure would affect tourism in Cody and surrounding communities. Historically, the pass has been open for 81 days during the winter, with 4,400 people using it in the busiest years, Lewis said.

But Tim Mahieu, president of the Cody Chamber of Commerce, said the implications of a closure could reach beyond the winter. When people across the country hear about the issue, Mahieu said many will mistakenly assume the east entrance is closed year-round, driving away summer tourists as well.

Temporary pass closures already were up this past winter, after the park service switched to using helicopters for avalanche control and flights were often grounded due to poor weather. A land-based cannon had been used previously - a less expensive option that several speakers on Thursday said should be reinstated.

Thursday's forum was organized by Shut Out of Yellowstone, a group formed in response to the closure proposal.