snowmobilers seek legislative solution to access issues in alaskas denali national park

The following press release sent by the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, details the legislative solution being sought out by snowmobilers and manufacturers regarding snowmobile access to the "Old Park" region of Alaska's Denali National Park and Reserve.

The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA) announced yesterday that it filed a motion in the U.S. District Court to dismiss a lawsuit they had filed to protect access to Denali National Park and Preserve from a Clinton Administration closure order. The Departments of the Interior and Justice support the motion to dismiss without prejudice.

Ever since the Clinton Administration issued an order in 1998 to ban snowmobiles from Denali's original 1.9-million-acre "Old Park" region, the Alaska State Snowmobile Association and the ISMA have sought protection in federal court, citing conflicts between the closure orders and existing law and National Park Service regulations. A federal judge invalidated the original closure in November 1999, but the Clinton Administration then issued another order that snowmobilers have continued to contest, claiming, among other things, that the second order adopted a flawed legal definition.

The motion to "dismiss without prejudice" would, if granted, have no adverse effects on the claims of the snowmobilers and enables them to re-file the lawsuit in the future if necessary. The motion was required because environmental group interveners had said that they would oppose dismissal without prejudice.

Dismissal will pave the way for the snowmobile community to work with Congress and the Interior Department toward a reasonable legislative resolution of snowmobile access to the Park. "When we filed the lawsuit, we were merely doing what needed to be done to prevent an order issued in the previous administration from shutting down the park simply out of prejudice against motorized recreational vehicles," said Ed Klim, president of ISMA.

"We chose to seek dismissal of the lawsuit because we've accomplished what we set out to do - simply by telling the truth and demonstrating that we're quite willing to make reasonable concessions," Klim said.

Since filing the suit, the snowmobile industry and users have had discussions with the Departments of the Interior and Justice, leading to an agreement to pursue an out-of-court resolution.

Snowmobiles have been operated in Denali for over 20 years, including most recently in the southeast corner of the Old Park on the south slope of the Alaska Range. Denali National Park and Preserve was expanded to over five million acres in 1980 by an Act of Congress that also mandated access by snowmobiles, motorboats and airplanes to all Park and Wilderness lands in Alaska for the purpose of engaging in traditional activities.

Snowmobilers have prepared draft legislation, which would have Congress settle the issue by closing to snowmobiles approximately 75 percent of the Old Park region. The draft legislation would prohibit snowmobiling in all portions of the Old Park north of the Alaska Range (approximately 1.6 million acres). The proposed prohibited area is bisected by the Denali Park road that hosts tens of thousands of motor vehicles each summer, carrying visitors who come to view wildlife.

The southeastern corner of the Old Park, south of the Alaska Range crest and east of the Mt. McKinley, would be reopened to snowmobiling. The proposed bill would also revoke the administrative actions taken by the Clinton administration and enable the National Park Service to issue new regulations consistent with the new legislative guidance.

Klim said that the snowmobilers' proposal is a well-known solution. "We first presented this proposal in the form of administrative action to the Clinton Administration before the first emergency closure occurred, but it was rejected," Klim explained.

"The snowmobile community looks forward to working with Congress to introduce and enact this measure which respects the rights and wishes of all parties," Klim pledged. "We also look forward to working with the Interior Department to achieve a cooperative and mutually agreeable resolution to the issue. We've continued to support reasonable access to National Parks and can support closures and restrictions that are consistent with established legal mandates."