Yellowstone Snowmobile Update

The number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park would be cut by more than half under an Obama administration proposal announced in July. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the proposed rule would limit snowmobile use to 318 snowmobiles and 78 multi-passenger snowcoaches daily for the next two winters, down from 720 snowmobiles per day allowed last winter.

The rule would extend for two years, during which time the Interior Department would conduct an environmental analysis and determine a permanent level. Last year, a Park Service plan would have allowed 540 snowmobiles daily into Yellowstone. Environmental groups challenged that plan in court, and a Washington, D.C. District Court struck it down. In response, the Park Service unveiled a new plan to allow 318 snowmobiiles per day (the same as allowed under the Interior Department’s proposal). Also last year, ruling on a separate lawsuit brought by snowmobilers, District Judge Brimmer in Cheyenne, Wyoming ruled that 720 snowmobiles should be allowed while a long-term plan was crafted. Judge Brimmer said recently that he has no authority to block Salazar’s current plan. At one point, the Clinton administration proposed an outright ban. A daily average of 205 snowmobiles entered the park in 2008-09.