Court reinstates snowmobile restriction in Yellowstone and Grand Tetonparks

December 17, 2003
Judge Voids New Rule Allowing Snowmobiles in Yellowstone
By FELICITY BARRINGER

ASHINGTON, Dec. 16 — On the eve of the winter snowmobile season in
Yellowstone National Park, a federal district judge on Tuesday evening
struck down the Bush administration's regulations permitting more than
950 snowmobiles a day in the park.

The judge, Emmet G. Sullivan, said the Clinton administration's decision
to phase out snowmobile use in that sweeping landscape of canyons,
geysers and jagged horizons had been arbitrarily reversed.

The ruling, while not unexpected, throws a new element of confusion into
an annual ritual of snowmobiles converging at the park's four gates for
the opening day of winter park touring.

With the latest rule invalidated, an earlier regulation holding the
maximum number of machines to 493 in Yellowstone and 50 in nearby Grand
Teton National Park and the road connecting the two goes into effect, a
park spokeswoman said.

Next winter, she said, a full ban goes into effect if Judge Sullivan's
ruling stands.

The ruling bristled with sharp characterizations of the Bush
administration's actions.

"The gap between the decision made in 2001, and the decision made in
2003 is stark," Judge Sullivan wrote. "In 2001, the rule-making process
culminated in a finding that snowmobiling so adversely impacted the
wildlife and resources of the parks that all snowmobile use must be
halted."

Judge Sullivan continued, "A scant three years later, the rule-making
process culminated in the conclusion that nearly 1,000 snowmobiles will
be allowed to enter the park each day."

The ruling included a footnote saying that "there is evidence in the
record that there isn't an explanation for this change," and that the
revised environmental impact statement "was completely politically
driven and result oriented."

Judge Sullivan sent the relevant National Park Service decisions back
for reconsideration.

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton reacted to the judge's ruling by
defending the Bush administration's decision, saying in a prepared
statement that improvements in snowmobile technology and careful
limitations had balanced the need for public enjoyment with that of
resource conservation.

"The added Park Service restrictions of best-available technology and
allowing a limited number of snowmobiles is a responsible approach and
avoids a complete ban," Ms. Norton said.

The ruling was embraced by the environmental groups that sued to
overturn the Bush administration snowmobile rule. The groups wanted to
retain the snowmobile ban issued in 2000, which would have gone into
effect over three years, with the final ban being instituted this
winter.

"Yellowstone is where our country first said, `This is what our national
parks mean to us.' " said Denis P. Galvin, a former deputy director of
the National Park Service, in a statement released in collaboration with
the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, which, along with the Fund for
Animals, appealed the ruling. "This ruling reaffirms that fundamental
purpose."

But for men like Bill Howell of West Yellowstone, a co-owner of
Yellowstone Arctic Cats and for three decades a snowmobiler and tour
guide, the ruling was simply another blow to the tourist business that
sustains the small town.

Speaking of the local economy, he said, "For the last few years it's
been a downward spiral, because of this issue." He agreed that the
moribund national economy might be part of the problem, but then said,
"The majority of it, I'm positive, is because of confusion over whether
the park is open or closed."

Six of the more than 50 motels in the area, close to the most-used
Yellowstone entrance, went out of business in the past year, he said.

The federal lawyers defending the reversal of the snowmobile ban had
urged Judge Sullivan to delay action until a final rule was issued. He
agreed, and the government issued the rule on Thursday, six days before
the start of the winter season. Judge Sullivan reacted testily on Monday
when a lawyer for the Snowmobile Association suggested that it was
unfair to act so close to the start of business for the
snowmobile-dependent towns around the park.

The Interior Department in 2000 went ahead with the unusual general ban
on snowmobiles, partly out of concern about the health of park rangers
who had to wear gas masks to alleviate the snowmobile exhaust. There was
also concern about the studies that showed the accommodations made for
snowmobilers hurt Yellowstone wildlife.

One study showed that in the wake of the grooming of 180 miles of park
roads to accommodate snowmobilers, the distribution of bison in the park
"changed drastically" apparently as they chose to use the easily
traversed paths rather than other routes that took them through deep
snow.

However, the easily traversed paths also made it easier for them to
reach the park's edges and stray onto nearby ranches.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company