TOPICS
TOPICS
Park Service finalizes policy limiting snowmobile access in Yellowstone
Three Wyoming lawmakers are anything but jolly after the National Park Service issued an order this week that limits some outdoor enthusiasts from dashing through the snow.
The state's congressional delegation produced a flurry of frosty statements on Thursday after the park service finalized a two-year policy limiting snowmobile access inside Yellowstone National Park during the winter months.
"Putting limits on public access is not required by law and is not backed by science" said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. "The administration has put politics ahead of management by limiting public access to our parks."
The park service's plan allows for just 318 snowmobiles and 78 commercial "snowcoaches," or bus-like vehicles popular with sightseers, each day. The limit is less than half the cap set by the Bush administration of 720 vehicles a day.
The rule will be assessed over the next two years to determine the environmental impact of the recreational vehicles.
A blizzard of controversy over snowmobile access to the park has been raging for years, exasperating local businesses as lawmakers, environmentalists and the courts have wrangled over efforts to reduce noise and pollution.
Fearing the limits will discourage tourists from visiting the park and harm the local economy, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the park service ruling "both disgraceful and wrong."
The resort industry has been eager to capitalize on what one snowmobile operator hails as "the privacy and seclusion of Yellowstone in winter." On its Web site, it adds: "Follow all 400 miles of groomed trails with exhilarating landscapes and breathtaking views ... warm, steamy waterfalls and rivers rushing through frozen vistas, Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Tetons, wolves, bison, coyotes, elk, and moose ... infinite beauty."
And, perhaps, less traffic, if the park service has its way.
COMMENTS
- Good for the Park Service--especially for adding the two year review. If their policy has no environmental impact, then it's advocates were wrong. If it does, then, there's your scientific evidence. Much better than people just screaming at each other. Tourists will still come--just different tourists. Probably more fit tourists--and, since America has an obesity epidemic, shouldn't we all be strapping on the Xcountry skis a little bit more? laura b Posted October 20, 2009 10:24 AM
- Having spent my honeymoon in Yellowstone in 1971 in the dead of winter by snowcoach, with a broken leg, it was an amazing experience. Not sure limiting the number of snowmobiles and snowcoaches in winter does anything except reduce the number of people who will be able to experience it. There is no other way to experience Yellowstone in the winter except these two vehicles, and it is a totally different scenic experience in winter. SJ Posted October 19, 2009 5:44 PM
- Walking through YNP in the winter?!? From the West Yellowstone entrance to Old Faithful is 32 miles - one way! From the same entrance to Mammoth Hot Springs is 49 miles - one way! To see Yellowstone in the winter, you must have a motorized vehicle to get to the sights. The bears won't come out of hibernation because they hear a snow machine. Yellowstone National Park is an awesome sight in the winter. Anybody who desires to enjoy the sights ought to be able to do so, regardless of the season. YNP Fan Posted October 19, 2009 12:32 PM
