Yellowstone Snowmobile Proposal Tossed Out
by Allie Comeau on September 16, 2008 
3 comments
The snowmobile saga continues in Yellowstone National Park.
The National Park Service wants to increase the number of snowmobiles (from 290 to 540) that are allowed daily in Yellowstone National Park. But a judge tossed the proposal out, saying the increase would add to air and noise pollution and disturb wildlife in the country’s first national park. The judge said that the National Park Service improperly “elevates use over conservation.”
“According to NPS’s own data, the (plan) will increase air pollution, exceed the use levels recommended by NPS biologists to protect wildlife, and cause major adverse impacts to the natural soundscape in Yellowstone,” U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said in an order Monday (via an article on MSNBC).
I don’t understand why the National Park Service, the agency that’s supposed to be protecting our national parks, would want this proposal passed. I guess the judge didn’t either. Judge Sullivan also said, “The National Park Service fails to articulate why the plan’s ‘major adverse impacts’ are ‘necessary and appropriate to fulfill the purposes of the park.”
Conservationists want to ban snowmobiles all together in Yellowstone. They believe the machines seriously degrade environmental conditions and threaten wildlife.
What do you think? Should snowmobiles be banned or multiplied in Yellowstone?
September 16th, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
I did fieldwork in Yellowstone over a few winters and needed to ride snowmobiles to get around the park. I can definitely understand allowing some snowmobile use by tourists in winter, since none of the roads are plowed and the only other option for viewing the park is via large tourist “snowcoaches.” However, the number allowed needs to be seriously restricted (perhaps to the current 290 per day). The bison use the roads as corridors in winter and must deal with whatever traffic is in the park. Also, I’ve seen examples of abuse in the park in which snowmobilers left the roads into the meadows – which is strictly prohibited. The more snowmobilers there are, the more violations. Although the NPS has multiple objectives, I think they need to lean more toward conserving the park’s resources and less toward catering to winter users.
September 17th, 2008 @ 7:40 am
I agree with you, Ryan. I think any more than the current allowed number of snowmobiles is too many. 290 might even be pushing it…
September 17th, 2008 @ 7:42 am
I think they should ban them. If you can’t see the park on foot, then maybe you don’t deserve to see it at all. Especially if your snowmobile is causing air and noise pollution and harming the wildlife. Exceptions could be made for rangers, etc.