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Natural
Trails & Waters Coaliton Press Release New Study Clouds Future of America's First National Park Contact:
Washington DC--In response to a snowmobile industry lawsuit, the federal government today released yet another study on the effects of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The study, available online today, contains no information that would compel the Park Service to change the conclusion it reached 15 month ago: that snowmobile use not only violates laws designed to protect parks, but endangers the ecological and social fabric of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Two of the proposed alternatives in the document would allow large-scale snowmobile use to continue. "The information in this study provided by the snowmobile industry is not new and does not change the Park Service's fundamental conclusion that snowmobile use damages these two magnificent national parks," said Alix Rauschman of the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition. "This whole process has delayed protection for Yellowstone and Grand Teton and wasted $2.4 million in taxpayers' money." New efforts this winter to mitigate the impacts of snowmobile use in Yellowstone are costing taxpayers more than a quarter of a million dollars. Yet even with the changes, hundreds of snowmobilers have been cited and warned this season for ignoring speed limits and other park rules established to protect public safety and Yellowstone's wildlife. Over Presidents' Day weekend, thousands of snowmobiles roared through Yellowstone National Park, and rangers at park gates were forced to put on respirators to fend off snowmobile exhaust fumes laden with carbon monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde. Park visitors can scarcely hear the rumble of Old Faithful geyser and other natural park sounds thanks to the nearly constant whine and roar of snowmobile engines. In a letter to President Bush, 102 members of Congress have urged the administration to uphold the standard of protection that has distinguished Yellowstone since Congress made it the world's first national park in 1872. "The pro-snowmobile alternatives in this plan fail to give the parks the protection they deserve and that the public demands," said Thomas C. Kiernan, National Parks Conservation Association president. "The National Park Service needs to uphold the original plan for eliminating snowmobiles-despite heavy pressure from the industry to keep the parks open to these harmful machines." "The country is watching to see if laws that have always protected Yellowstone will be upheld, or if evidence that snowmobiles are harming a national treasure will be swept under the rug for the benefit of the snowmobile industry," said Hope Sieck of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "Instead of considering options to delay and weaken protections for Yellowstone, the Bush Administration should uphold the decision to phase out snowmobiles and help ensure that all Americans can enjoy the clean air, wildlife, and natural beauty of our first National Park," said Kathryn Hohmann of the Sierra Club. The new study, the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
(DSEIS), is currently available online at www.winteruseplanning.net.
Printed copies will be available to the public beginning March 29,
but the official comment period on the future of Yellowstone and
Grand Teton national parks begins today.
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