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Skiers decry Park Service plan to keep snowmobiles in Yellowstone

WINTER WILDLANDS CLAIMS DECISION NOT BEST FOR PARK RESOURCES, WORKERS, OR VISITORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2003

CONTACT: Ken Miller, Winter Wildlands Education and Outreach Coordinator, 208.344.8692, .

BOISE, ID — The National Park Service's plan to allow continued snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park is a major setback for Americans wanting to enjoy their public lands in a natural setting, the nation's first and only group representing backcountry skiers and snowshoers said Thursday.

"Of course we're not surprised, but we are very disappointed that this administration has turned its back on what it knows is the best protection for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks," said Sally Grimes, executive director for Winter Wildlands Alliance. "The Park Service just spent $2.4 million to learn what it already knew — that banning private and commercial use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone is the best way to protect this special place. Americans should be angry, and they should demand to know why this decision was made, how it was made, and who in this administration made it."

The Park Service released its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on its winter use plan for Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The FSEIS, which will be formalized in a Record of Decision on March 24, acknowledges that the snowmobile ban recommended by the Park Service in 2000 would have best protected the parks, their resources and their workers and visitors from the impacts of snowmobiles. The Park Service did not designate a public comment period on its plan, despite calls by some in Congress that it should hear the American public on the snowmobile issue. In past public comment periods, Americans spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the snowmobile ban that the Park Service is now setting aside.

"This decision boiled down to two choices," Grimes said. "What is best for Yellowstone and what was acceptable to the snowmobile industry. In favoring the snowmobile industry, the Park Service has lowered the threshold for protecting our precious places and ignored its own science and overwhelming public sentiment that Yellowstone should be protected."

Winter Wildlands Alliance, based in Boise, ID, represents the more than 20 million skiers and snowshoers who enjoy the quiet backcountry experience of exploring America's public lands free from the impacts of motorized users. WWA and its grassroots groups across America's snowbelt work with public land managers and others — including snowmobile organizations — to resolve user conflicts on public lands.

On Feb. 15, Winter Wildlands held a "Stand Up for Yellowstone" rally inside Yellowstone's west gate to raise awareness of skier concerns about the impacts of snowmobiles on the winter visitor experience in the world's first national park. Besides gaining attention for non-motorized park users, the more than 80 participants in the WWA President's Day rally met with visiting members of Congress and other policy-makers to show their support for Yellowstone.

"This is a setback, but we knew it was coming," Grimes said. "But rather than ending this fight, it's only the beginning. We will redouble our efforts to win more support for the Yellowstone Protection Act in Congress, and we expect those in the House and Senate will step in and protect Yellowstone. We only wish the Park Service had lived up to its obligation to do the same."

Skiers also take issue with the Park Service's claims that new four-stroke snowmobiles are so much cleaner and quieter that they can be used in the park without continuing to pose environmental harm and without impacting the experiences of other visitors.

During the President's Day weekend, skiers attending the WWA rally also took sound survey data at various locations inside the west entrance of Yellowstone, and found that even the new four-stroke snowmobiles can be heard from ski trails far from the snowmobile routes.

"Not only do the four-stroke machines continue to foul the environment, they can also be heard on ski trails around the western portion of Yellowstone," Grimes said. "Moving to four-stroke machines is clearly not a solution to the problem. Removing them is."

Founded in 2000 by grassroots groups throughout the country, Winter Wildlands Alliance is the only national organization working to protect a quality human-powered winter recreation experience. For more information, visit www.winterwildlands.org.

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