From U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Resources
Chairman Richard Pombo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Judge Bans Winter Access to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

WASHINGTON (December 17) - On the eve of the official winter season in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, D.C. district Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled late Tuesday to outlaw snowmobile access to the parks after 2004.   In an exceptional display of what can only be described as environmental elitism, the judge's opinion reflects an extreme position effectively banning the public from much of the park during the winter months. 

"Federal judges continue to abuse their authority by legislating from the bench," said House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA).  "This judge in particular seems to have a penchant for locking out the public and refuses to apply common sense in interpreting the spirit and intent of the law.  It appears that a shrill, vocal minority need only get the ear of a single judge in Washington and our representative government goes out the window.  This trend must change."

Unfortunately, the harm of today's decision is not limited to those who would spend a few hours or days visiting the park.  Rather, the gateway communities surrounding park entrances, whose economic vitality is closely tied to park visitation, will suffer the most.  Take West Yellowstone, Montana, for example.  Currently bustling pancake houses, motels, trinket shops, and other small and family-run businesses in this rustic mountain town rely on winter traffic for their livelihood.         

In addition to decimating neighboring communities, the judge's decision marks a dangerous precedent for vehicular access to America's park system.  Like auto traffic, snowmobile use is strictly limited to roads.  The latest rule published by the National Park Service allows only 1140 snowmobiles to enter the parks on a daily basis, compared to more than 1.5 million cars, trucks and motorcycles that travel its roads annually.  Ironically, critics condemn snowmobile use in the park claiming excessive noise and air pollution.  But statistics show that ambient air quality standards have never been exceeded during the winter in the history of these parks.

Certainly, the environmental impact of unbridled snowmobile use cannot be ignored.  However, at the other extreme lies a heavy-handed prohibition like the Clinton-era rule championed by radical environmentalists.  With a long history of arguing that public lands must be preserved for tourism and recreation, these same groups have flipped their position in this case and are now attacking tourism and recreation through the courts. 

The remedy is a common sense approach demanding high environmental standards and managed use while still allowing for wintertime excursions.  The plan overturned today by Judge Sullivan strikes that much needed balance.  Implementing the first ever restrictions to wintertime access to any national park; it calls for strictly guided tours and caps the number of snowmobiles entering the park daily.  It also requires that drivers be licensed and mandates the use of the best available technology, cutting noise and pollution to a minimum.

"If environmental extremists continue to have their way, people will be looking at Yellowstone through a plate glass window," said Pombo.  "What the extremists were not able to accomplish by changing the law, they are attempting to accomplish by using the courts via a handpicked judge in Washington."