yellowstone ruling changes again

Federal district Judge Clarence Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction of the court-imposed ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks late Tuesday. Like the Bush Administration's proposed rule, Brimmer's decision requires cleaner, quieter four-stroke snowmobiles in the parks.

"President Roosevelt's original intent for the parks is prominently positioned on the arch that stretches over the North entrance to Yellowstone: 'This Park was created and is now administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people...it is the property of Uncle Sam and therefore of us all," said House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA). "I applaud Judge Brimmer for using reason, common sense and science in making this critical decision."

"Unfortunately, the radical environmental groups who brought this case before the courts blindly support the ban without a second thought for the working class families who suffer," Pombo continued. "These families are the innocent victims here. New technologies and common sense enable us to strike a balance between preservation and recreation in our national parks."

For Wyoming, a state with less than 500,000 people (2000, U.S. Census Bureau), the loss of a reported 938 jobs has a tremendous impact on the economy. To put that in perspective, these net job losses in Wyoming are equivalent to 67,743 lost jobs in California, 37, 952 lost jobs in New York, and 12,698 lost jobs in Massachusetts.

"Judge Brimmer made the right decision on two counts. He did the right thing for the working families who depend on snowmobiling to make a living, and he was right on the law. I applaud his decision," said Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY). "It's a sad state of affairs when the radical environmentalists can run to a liberal, Washington D.C. judge and the end result is Wyoming people lose their jobs. This 'judge shopping' has to stop."

Brimmer also recognized several of the studies conducted for the Park Service which reveal the truth about new generation snowmobiles. Scientists from the University of New Hampshire recommended the Park Service could significantly decrease air pollution with cleaner, quieter four-stroke snowmobiles.

"I do think the snowmobile people have an argument - allowing four-stroke snowmobiles in the winter is really no different than allowing snow coaches," said Barkley Sive, lead scientist on the project. Snow coaches are the loud, multi-passenger vehicles commonly advocated by extremists seeking to limit public access to the parks.

Another report, based on data collected by Central Michigan University scientists in 2002, determined that "allowing a regulated number of cleaner, four-stroke snowmobiles within the park would help to resolve the problem." The team wants to head back to Yellowstone next year to capture summer air samples which they would compare with their original findings.

December's D.C. court decision outlawed snowmobile access to the parks entirely after 2004, remanding a Bush Administration proposal that requires the use of noise and pollution reducing technologies. The Clinton-era plan allows smog-spewing machines to persist this winter.

"We should leave our children a legacy of common sense. The rule proposed by the Bush Administration is the responsible approach," said Pombo. "Public access to our national parks is not only a gift to our children, but is required by law