CODY - National Park Service policies are hurting this gateway community, local officials and business owners told Yellowstone National Park's superintendent her Thursday.

But Suzanne Lewis said her agency is committed to the east gate city and indicated her presence in Cody was evidence of that.

"This is my sixth winter in Yellowstone National Park, and in the winter I typically come to Cody sometimes twice a year, depending on how much controversy is going on," she said. "This is my second trip so far this winter."

Lewis and supporting Yellowstone staff members met with members of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce National Parks Committee, Park County Travel Council, representatives of the state's congressional delegation, and local business owners. The atmosphere at the meeting was mostly congenial, with an open give-and-take between park officials and concerned locals.

The majority of local concern centered on the Park Service's plan to close Sylvan Pass to all motorized oversnow travel. Yellowstone officials say they have proposed the closure to address visitor and employee safety and health issues.

Lewis and her staff have received and started reviewing official comments submitted by agencies including the state of Wyoming, the Park County Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We don't feel that the (National Park Service) economic analysis is accurate," said Marie Fontaine, Park County commissioner. "We feel that the numbers are set up for us to fail and to support the closure of the east gate."

Fontaine said Montana is getting "preferential treatment" in the fact that if Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance are closed in the winter, that leaves Wyoming with only one access point - at the south gate - compared with two park entrances in the neighboring state.

According to Lewis, only 11 percent of total park visitation originates from the East Entrance. Visitor numbers in total have been on the decline for the last several years no matter the season, with winter totals declining most significantly. These drops can be attributed to a number of factors, officials say, including the insistence on commercially guided snowmobile traffic and the inconsistency of the federal government regarding winter regulations.

Bob Coe, owner of Pahaska Teepee just outside Yellowstone's east gate, reiterated Fontaine's view of bias in his comments to the superintendent.

"We feel like we've been squeezed out in Cody. And we're not just being squeezed out in the winter," he said.

He pointed out how Cody's gate opens later in the spring than other park entrances and typically closes earlier in the fall. Coe recently closed his resort for the winter season due to uncertainty with avalanche controls on Sylvan Pass. The business will reopen in May for the summer tourism traffic.

"I guess we've got a reputation with (park officials) of being whiners," Coe said. "That upsets me. In order for us to get anything accomplished on this side of the park, we have to whine."

Coe argued that Park Service has lost sight of its founding principles. He suggested that Lewis and her staff review the statements from the Organic Act of 1916 that say the Park Service will promote and regulate national parks, monuments and reservations in order to conserve the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife as well as "provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Lewis responded the Park Service has not "lost track of that mission or last touch with our visitors," and stated that her proposal to close Sylvan Pass is based on safety concerns and economics and is not a decision she has entered into lightly - nor is it written in stone. She emphasized that the winter-use planning is still in the pre-draft phase, with a formal draft expected in late March, which will open up a 60-day public comment period.

"(Closing) Sylvan Pass is not just about money," she said. "For the past six years, every winter that I've been here we've been looking at it. It is a serious matter."

The superintendent said a recent avalanche occurred on the pass that was large enough to turn over a snowcoach had there been traffic that morning.

"We haven't had the big one yet, but I don't want to be here for the big one," she said, adding that it is time to change the accepted yet outdated practices in order to ensure the safety of park staff and visitors and to maintain the overall functions of the park.

"Thirty years of not doing the right thing doesn't warrant 30 more years of not doing the right thing," she said. "Our safety issues are real concerns."

Park employees must cross four avalanche fields in order to reach the howitzer which historically has been used to control avalanches on Sylvan Pass. This winter; however, a helicopter company contracted out of Missoula, Mont., is being used for control measures. There have been a variety of issues with the helicopter method which have caused some disruption in the pass being open regular hours during the last couple of months.

Other public comments focused on getting an assurance of set opening and closing dates for the east gate, as well as the worry about a precedent being set regarding access to park amenities.

"You're micromanaging this little part of the park," Coe said. "As soon as you come in and start setting safety standards, noise standards and pollution standards, you can shut the whole thing down. I feel like this is the first step to shutting down our summer season."