Yellowstone National Park (cont.)
All recreational snowmobiles entering Yellowstone National Park will be required to be four-stroke machines that meet the cleaner, quieter National Park Service (NPS) "Best Available Technology" (BAT) standards. A list of NPS-approved BAT snowmobiles are available on the park's web site at www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse.
BAT snowmobiles will be required in Grand Teton National Park, with the exception of a short segment of the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail (between Moran Junction and the east park boundary) and those originating in the Targhee National Forest and traveling on the Grassy Lake Road as far as Flagg Ranch.
The temporary winter use management plan is a balanced approach that ensures that resources are protected, provides access and gives visitors, employees and residents of the park's gateway communities the information they want and need to plan for the near term, and will help minimize economic impacts.
Monitoring data gathered during the interim plan will be invaluable in accurately assessing the impact of winter use in the long-term analysis and developing a permanent regulation for winter use in the parks.
Last winter, according to the National Park Service, an average of 258 snowmobiles entered Yellowstone daily during January and February 2004. All snowmobilers were led by commercial guides and the vast majority of snowmobiles met the NPS's best available technology requirements. Historically, an average of about 765 snowmobiles entered Yellowstone each day.
The winter of 2003-04 was also different in Grand Teton and JDR. From Dec. 17, 2003 to Feb. 10, 2004, snowmobile use in the two parks, consisting of the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail and Grassy Lake Road, averaged about 5 snowmobiles per day. After Feb. 11, when Jackson Lake opened for snowmobile use, the combined number of snowmobiles increased to approximately 20 per day.