Do You Agree With Yesterday's Ruling Not to Allow More Snowmobiles in Yellowstone?
Tuesday September 16, 2008
The number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park won't be increased, a federal judge ruled Monday. The Bush administration's plan would allow more than 500 snowmobiles a day into Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. But, judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Federal District Court in Washington ruled letting so many machines in the park was not in keeping with the National Park Service's responsibility to protect the parks. Currently, only about 260 snowmobiles a day are allowed in the park.
Although not ordinarily a fan of snowmobiling, I've gone on two snowmobile tours in Yellowstone and enjoyed both. The machines now allowed in the park are cleaner and quieter than in the past, you must follow a guide, and stay on the roads. Creeping quietly past a massive bison standing in the middle of the road, stopping to look at bubbling mud pots, and seeing foxes watching you are all part of the journey. Riding on snowmobiles (or in a much slower snow coach) let you see Yellowstone in the winter .
Are you for -- or against -- letting more snowmobiles on the roads that thread through this country's first national park in the winter? Let me know.
Although not ordinarily a fan of snowmobiling, I've gone on two snowmobile tours in Yellowstone and enjoyed both. The machines now allowed in the park are cleaner and quieter than in the past, you must follow a guide, and stay on the roads. Creeping quietly past a massive bison standing in the middle of the road, stopping to look at bubbling mud pots, and seeing foxes watching you are all part of the journey. Riding on snowmobiles (or in a much slower snow coach) let you see Yellowstone in the winter .
Are you for -- or against -- letting more snowmobiles on the roads that thread through this country's first national park in the winter? Let me know.
The cleaner/quieter sleds really do make a huge difference. Several years ago I listened to the engines of both the four-stroke and two-stroke snowmbobiles and there was a surprising difference. The people who head into the park on snowmobiles don’t seem to be interested in speed or sport. I think most people who go into the park on a snowmobile think of them as transportation only…the park is the experience, not the snowmobile.