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| The
Vroom Report The State of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) Across America
March 11, 2003: In this Issue: Yellowstone Protection Act Introduced in Congress Yellowstone Protection Act Introduced in Congress - More than 130 Senators and Members of Congress from both parties joined together on March 6 to introduce the Yellowstone Protection Act. This legislation would codify the 2000 decision by the National Park Service to phase-out snowmobiles from Yellowstone and Grant Teton National Parks and guarantee winter access via snowcoaches. Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) are the lead sponsors in the House while Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) co-authored the Senate version. At a press conference unveiling the measure, many members stated that they are taking this step because the Department of Interior has failed to respond to clear, overwhelming and growing public support for the phase-out. Representative Holt summed up the feeling of many in Congress: "This Administration continues to ignore its own scientific evidence and the clear voice of the American people and we won't stand for it." Representative Shays said: "Science, law and public opinion all strongly support phasing out snowmobiles." Senator Reid commented about the importance of Yellowstone to the nation: "Yellowstone Park is the birthplace of our Park System, and should serve as a guiding light for our protection of natural resources, not as the canary in coal mine." Senator Chafee explained: "This legislation is necessary to protect the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks from the serious and increasing harm being inflicted by the indiscriminate use of snowmobiles." The San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed the bill in an editorial on March 10. After detailing how the Bush Administration has ignored decades of science, the professional judgement of the National Park Service and overwhelming public support for phasing out the machines, the editorial concludes: "The Yellowstone Protection Act is about protecting a vital national resource. It rates swift passage." Interior Department Snowmobile Plan Panned -- The Department's preliminary plan to allow continued and expanded snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks has drawn criticism from editorial writers across the country. The Detroit Free Press ("Yellowstone Fog," March 3, 2003) criticized the decision and remarked that it "resounds nationwide" as the off-road vehicle industry pushes for unlimited use everywhere. On February 11, the Los Angeles Times ("Snowmobile Ban Ambush") also challenged this plan and the process used to assess the environmental impacts caused by snowmobiles. The Times wrote: "A Yellowstone planning official says the park must study environmental alternatives but doesn't have to accept them. He added that 'we look at the preferred alternative to strike a balance.' The preferred alternative was the one to allow snowmobiles to continue to race around Old Faithful and other natural wonders. So why do they call it an 'environmental' impact study? And what are they balancing the Yellowstone environment against? Obviously, it is the snowmobile industry and a few tourist businesses adjoining Yellowstone, primarily in West Yellowstone, Mont., and Jackson, Wyo." The Department is scheduled to make a final decision on a new snowmobile policy by March 24, 2003. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Proposes Field Hearings on ATV Safety - CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton told the annual meeting of the Consumer Federation of America that the Commission will hold hearing across the country on the safety of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). According to a report on the meeting in the Daily Report for Executives, the Chairman said regional hearings make sense because not many people ride ATVs in Washington, DC. He did not discuss a hearing schedule or locations. While field hearings can be useful in many cases, in this instance, spending a year holding hearings delays real action to address the problem while it allows the Commission to claim action. The Commission has been studying this problem for twenty years. In fact, its most recent comprehensive study was released publicly in early February. This study only confirms previous findings - the number of ATV-related injuries is increasing dramatically across all age groups, and those increases far outpace rising ATV sales and/or usage. Doctors and other medical professionals have published many studies on this issue - most of which point to similar causes. There is little evidence to suggest that the major causes of the ATV safety problem vary widely by region of the country. Men's Journal Visits Algodones Dunes in Southern California - The March edition of Men's Journal assesses burgeoning off-road vehicle use in the Algodones Dunes. The piece, entitled "The Wildest Place in America," chronicles dirt bike, ATV and dune buggy use over a typical holiday weekend. In the past, as many as 200,000 riders have converged on this fragile desert landscape, which has been entrusted to the federal Bureau of Land Management. This piece is particularly timely. The Bureau could release a final plan in the near future to manage off-road vehicle use throughout the Dunes. This plan, if finalized as proposed, could also reopen up to 50,000 acres of habitat critical to endangered plants and animals, including the desert tortoise, to off-road vehicles. This action would void a consensus reach by the Bureau, conservationists and the off-road vehicle community in 2000 to close this area until permanent protections for these species could be put in place. The plan as proposed fails to provide such protections. RS 2477 Website Up and Running - A coalition of conservation, recreation and other organizations across the country has established a website to provide information about the threats that this Civil War-era law poses to public lands across the west. The site - www.highway-robbery.org - contains background information about this law, which was repealed in 1976, as well as examples of National Parks, National Monuments and other public lands that are threatened by claims that would turn footpaths or stream beds into highways. In addition, recent regulations issued by the Department of Interior could allow off-road vehicle groups to use questionable RS 2477 claims to force these machines into wilderness areas and other pristine landscapes. The site remains under development and will be expanded in the weeks ahead. Boone and Crockett Club Voids World Record Grizzly Bear Due to Improper Off-Road Vehicle Use - According to the Anchorage Daily News ("BIG GRIZ IS STRICKEN FROM CLUB'S RECORD BOOK ETHICS: Boone and Crockett questions 'fair chase' of 1998 hunt." February 23, 2003), the Boone and Crockett Club, which was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887 and serves as the official record-keeping organization for big game hunting in North America, has removed a world record grizzly bear from its record book because individuals involved in the hunt violated the Club's fair chase principles. A Boone and Crockett spokesman told the Daily News that this is the first time a world record has been removed. The spokesman explained that in using swamp buggies to repeatedly drive through salmon streams during the hunt, the party violated the Club's fair chase standards. The Club took this action because it believes that the bear would never have been taken without the illegal use of the swamp buggies. The spokesman stressed that this action demonstrates that the Club takes "fair chase very seriously." Scott Kovarovics The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes conservation, recreation 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.
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