groups seek to kill 2001 parks rules that banned snowmobiles

Last week the snowmobile manufacturers, a group of winter resorts and the states of Montana and Wyoming asked a judge to strike down the 2001 rule banning snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

The rule itself has been set aside, for the moment, by an agreement that allows a set number of sleds in those parks. However, some worry that the rule may keep being dredged up by snowmobile opponents if it is not thrown out entirely.

Right before the 2003-04 season, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington D.C. overturned new parks regulations and reinstated the 2001 rule, ordering a cutback in snowmobile use in the parks for last season and a complete ban this season.

However, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer, the judge trying the current case, overturned Sullivan's decision last February and ordered temporary rules to be set for the rest of the season.

In turn, the Parks Service then set forth its current proposal that would allow 720 commercially guided, best-technology sleds into Yellowstone and 140 in Grand Teton on a daily basis. Currently, public comment is being taken on that proposal and a final regulation is set to be announced by Oct. 29. The service also is working on regulations for the next three seasons.

According to the Associated Press, both sides agree that if the 2001 rule were struck down, the Parks Service would have to go back to the 1983 rule that allowed unregulated snowmobiling. Brimmer was uncomfortable with that option because of a consensus that limits were necessary to protect wildlife and reduce noise, according to the AP.

Attorneys argued that striking down the 2001 rule would provide certainty to the businesses in the area that depend on snowmobiling.

The AP reported "Judge Brimmer said he would issue a decision later, then directly addressed Yellowstone officials in the courtroom, saying 'I do have no intention of supplanting your jurisdiction in running the park.'"