November 5, 2002
ELECTION DAY EDITION

In this edition:

· November 6, 2002 will be a landmark day for National Parks as jet skis will be banned from virtually all of them;
· On November 12, 2002, the Bush Administration is expected to reveal the details of a plan that will continue to allow snowmobiles Yellowstone National Park;
· Nearly sixty percent of Utah voters believe that children under sixteen should not ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs); and
· The Forest Service is closing 7,000 acres of the Ocala National Forest after finding a 20 percent increase in illegally-created off-road vehicle routes in an eleven month period.

National Park Service Prohibits Unsafe, Environmentally Damaging Jet Skis from Most Parks

On November 6, the National Park Service will officially prohibit jet ski use from virtually all units of the National Park system with the exception of Lake Mead National Recreation Area on the Nevada/Arizona border. This represents a major victory for our National Parks, however the Park Service has already issued, or will continue to issue environmental assessments and proposed rules that would reintroduce jet skis. The Park Service can only reopen parks to jet skis if it can demonstrate that these dangerous and polluting machines do not cause environmental damage and public safety hazards.

The Bush Administration, in an effort to get jet skis back into the parks, took some short cuts to produce quick and dirty assessments that were poor to say the least. At six parks, Assateague Island (MD/VA), Fire Island (NY), Glen Canyon, (UT/AZ), Lake Mead (NV/AZ), Big Thicket (TX), Pictured Rocks (MI), studies clearly fell short of the mark and are missing important information to adequately determine the negative impacts of jet skis in National Parks. Many studies lack site-specific information or analysis of public safety issues.

To view which parks are closing, please visit: lhttp://www.naturaltrails.org/issues/factsheets/fs_parks_closing_jetski.html.

Yellowstone National Park

On November 12, the Bush Administration will provide details of its plan to allow snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park - a decision that clearly stands at odds with overwhelming public support and scientific evidence to back phasing the machines out of the Park. In the draft alternatives presented by the Park Service this summer, less protection for Yellowstone visitors, wildlife and employees would result if the Administration moves ahead with its plan. Analysis on the proposal concluded that opting for continued snowmobile use would:

· Greatly expand the acreage within Yellowstone where visitors would hear even more noise from the machines;
· Produce frequent conflicts between snowmobiles and winter-fatigued wildlife on seven major portions of Yellowstone's 180-mile road network; and
· Emit far more carbon monoxide and other pollutants into Yellowstone's air than snowcoaches.

In just a week, the public will catch a glimpse of the Administration's attempt to overturn protection of America's first National Park.

Please visit the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition pressroom to view our most recent Yellowstone Advisory at http://www.naturaltrails.org/pressroom/index.html.

In Utah, the Public Agrees that All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are Dangerous for Children

In a state where it is legal to drive an ATV on public lands at the delicate age of only 8 years old, it appears that recent attention to safety issues is making people more aware of the dangers of ATVs. In a statewide poll released by The Salt Lake Tribune on October 27, 2002, 59 percent of respondents said they would support a law banning anyone under age 16 from operating ATVs on public lands.

Physicians, Consumer Federation of America, Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, and Bluewater Network released a report in August entitled, ATV Safety Crisis-America's Children at Risk, which documents the rising tide of ATV-related deaths and injuries and the disproportionate impacts on children under 16.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is now accepting public comment on a request that it ban the sale of adult-size ATVs for use by children under 16. The placement of the petition in the Federal Register initiates the regulatory process, but does not guarantee that a regulation will be issued.

Read the report at http://www.naturaltrails.org/publications/index.html.

Off-Road Vehicle Damages Escalates, Forcing the Forest Service to Take Action to Protect Florida's Forests

Yesterday, the Forest Service closed 7,000 acres of the Ocala National Forest in Florida to all motorized travel to perform an environmental analysis of the growing damage caused by all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. The Forest Service enforced this action after learning that in an eleven-month period, there was a 20 percent increase in the amount of illegal cross-country routes created by unlicensed off-road vehicles in Paisley Woods and Lake Delancy - an amount the Service describes as "unacceptable" and "alarming."

The Forest Service began assessing the impacts of off-road vehicle use in all three of Florida's National Forests (Ocala, Osceola and Apalachicola) in 2000 after evidence emerged that the machines were causing severe damage to natural resources and displacing hikers, campers, and other recreationists.

Now an environmental impact analysis will be conducted to determine the impacts of off-road vehicles in this sensitive area. The analysis will be ready for public comment later this month.

Read the advisory at http://www.naturaltrails.org/pressroom/index.html.

For More Information Contact:
Alix Rauschman, Communications Specialist
(202) 429-2672 phone
(202) 549-2860 cell
alix_rauschman@tws.org
www.naturaltrails.org

The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes conservation, recreation, hunting and other groups working to protect and restore all public lands and waters from the severe damage caused by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, jet skis and all other off-road vehicles.