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Snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park November 22, 2004 This weekend, Congress approved a last-second rider to the Omnibus spending bill that requires the National Park Service to allow snowmobiles into Yellowstone National Park this winter season, despite repeated scientific findings that the best protection for the park and for healthy visitor enjoyment of the park is a transition to full public access through snowcoaches. Yellowstone National Park is an irreplaceable treasure and a piece of America's heritage. It is unfortunate that Congress has chosen to ignore repeated scientific determinations as well as standing law requiring the best protection for national parks, which Congress has long advocated. Congress, however, will have more opportunities to work toward the healthiest possible enjoyment of this treasured place in the future. The timing of this action is intriguing in that U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan has called for a status hearing on this issue Tuesday morning, November 23rd. Last year, Sullivan noted in a ruling that the National Park Service has a “conservation mandate” to “avoid, or minimize to the greatest degree practicable, adverse impacts on park resources and values.” Sullivan also noted that the National Park Service’s conservation mandate “trumps all other considerations." November 9, 2004 Yellowstone Rule Deals Blow to Longstanding Ethic of Best Protection for National Parks November 9, 2004 -- With the recent release of the final rule for winter use in Yellowstone National Park, the Bush administration has made official its choice to continue snowmobile use in the country's oldest national park despite repeated conclusions by the National Park Service that the move provides inferior protection for park resources and the health of employees and visitors. In three separate studies conducted during the past six years, the National Park Service determined that the best way to protect wildlife, air quality, and other resources of Yellowstone National Park is to phase out snowmobile use while increasing public access on snowcoaches. The US Environmental Protection Agency has independently reached the same conclusion three times. Yet in the final rule, the National Park Service authorizes continued snowmobile use, 720 snowmobiles per day in Yellowstone and 140 snowmobiles per day in Grand Teton National Park- nearly triple the level of snowmobile use that created problems last year. In its most recent study released in August, the National Park Service disclosed what it expects under the new plan for continued snowmobile use: visitors and employees will breathe unhealthy levels of toxic benzene in snowmobile exhaust; wearing ear plugs will be advisable to cope with snowmobile noise; protective thresholds for air pollution and noise will be exceeded regularly; needless wildlife disturbance will continue. The release of the final rule comes on the heal of The Administration's "Finding of No Significant Impact" which claims that further impacts from snowmobile use in Yellowstone will not be "significant." This finding directly contradicts recent studies which concluded that allowing 720 snowmobiles a day would not protect the health and welfare of employees, visitors, and The Park's natural resources. October 15, 2004 What Judge Brimmer Ruled, What It Means Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled late yesterday on a lawsuit initiated by the snowmobile industry and the State of Wyoming that the process leading up to the 2001 decision by the National Park Service was flawed. But while Brimmer thought the process was politicized, two subsequent studies conducted by the National Park Service have come to the same conclusion – that a transition to snowcoaches was best for the health, safety and enjoyment of Americans and for our nation’s first national park. It is important to note that Judge Brimmer’s ruling rejected an industry argument that, under the Organic Act which governs our national parks, the National Park Service has an obligation to keep snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The Judge expressly recognized that the National Park Service has discretion to transition to full snowcoach access so long as the agency undertakes an appropriate process. Sierra Club Press Release: Judge’s Ruling Puts Ball Back in Park Service’s Court Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 Court Blocks Snowmobile Phaseout A district court judge blocked the phaseout of snowmobile use underway in Yellowstone National Park, threatening the health and safety of park visitors, employees and wildlife. The immediate increase in snowmobile numbers is a setback for public health and conservation. Air and noise pollution levels in America's first National Park had been falling since an earlier court ruling ordered the phaseout of snowmobiles and transition to snowcoach access. Today's court ruling and higher level of snowmobile use depart from what the National Park Service has twice concluded would provide the fullest protection for the health and safety of visitors, workers, and the Park's wildlife and environment. The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer, blocked the phaseout of snowmobile use underway in Yellowstone. In response, the National Park Service announced today that it would increase to 780 the number of snowmobiles allowed into Yellowstone each day. This decision reverses the phaseout of snowmobiles which the National Park Service's own study concluded "best preserves the unique, historic, cultural, and natural resources associated with Yellowstone and Grant Teton National Parks" and "yields the lowest levels of impacts to air quality, water quality, natural soundscapes, and wildlife." Reversal for Yellowstone - Sierra Club Press Release January 13, 2004 Court Upholds Snowmobile Decision Today we moved closer to full protection of America's first national park. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a phaseout of snowmobile use under way in Yellowstone National Park must continue. The panel of federal judges rejected a bid by the snowmobile industry to immediately halt the decision to move forward with the phaseout that began December 17. Yellowstone is not out of the woods yet -- appeals by the state of Wyoming, the snowmobile industry, and others will go forward in the coming months. The phaseout is already reducing air and noise pollution in the country’s first national park. Yet even with reduced numbers of snowmobiles, problems persist. Monday, the National Park Service announced that the “worst case of illegal snowmobile use ever recorded” on Yellowstone’s West Entrance road has damaged trees and shrubs in park meadows. Read our press release. Dec. 16, 2003 Good News! Judge Restores Snowmobile Ban in Park Today in Washington, D.C., a federal judge reaffirmed the government's responsibility to provide the highest protection in America's national parks. Judge Emmett Sullivan blocked a decision by the Bush administration to continue snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park. In its own study this year, the Bush administration concluded that even the latest-technology snowmobiles would cause pollution and health risks to park employees, visitors and wildlife. The ruling requires a phase-out of snowmobiles to begin in Yellowstone immediately. There will be limited snowmobile traffic this year followed by a complete ban next year. The Sierra Club joined the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, National Parks Conservation Association, Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Winter Wildlands Alliance as plaintiffs in the case, represented by Earthjustice. The Wyoming Attorney General and others have indicated that they intend to file appeals soon. Excerpts from Judge Sullivan's decision: "The gap between the decision made in 2001, and the decision made in 2003 is stark. In 2001, the rulemaking process culminated in a finding that snowmobiling so adversely impacted the wildlife and resources of the Parks that all snowmobile use must be halted. A scant three years later, the rulemaking process culminated in the conclusion that nearly 1,000 snowmobiles will be allowed to enter the park each day." "In light of its clear conservation mandate, and the previous conclusion that snowmobile use amounted to unlawful impairment, the Agency is under an obligation to explain this 180 degree reversal. NPS has not met this obligation. NPS's explanation that technological improvements and mitigation measures justify this change has...proven weak at best." "There is evidence in the Record that there isn't an explanation for this change and that the SEIS was completely politically driven." "The prospect of improved technology is not "new." The possibility of improved technology was explicity considered in the 2000 ROD, and just as explicity rejected as an inadequate solution for reducing the negative impacts of snowmobiling." ..."in comments submitted to the NPS during the current rulemaking process, the EPA affirms that technological projections made in 2000 were accurate and concludes that even with new technology, a phase-out of snowmobile use is still necessary." For more on the ruling, see the press release. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club