Issue 109 - December 11, 2006
1. COLORADO ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUCCESSFULLY HALT ROAD CONSTRUCTION, FOR NOW
2. ALASKA MOVES FORWARD WITH CONTROVERSIAL JUNEAU ROAD
3. YELLOWSTONE WINTER USE PLAN MEETS WITH CRITICISM
4. PARK SERVICE RETIREES ENDORSE SNOW COACHES IN YELLOWSTONE
5. MONTANA FOREST APPROVES NEW WINTER USE PLAN
6. NORTH IDAHO SNOWMOBILING RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
7. MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA REINFORCES PROPOSED OFF-ROAD VEHICLE BAN
8. MICHIGAN RANGERS ENFORCING OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RESTRICTIONS
9. ARIZONA LEGISLATURE MAY REQUIRE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PERMITS
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1. COLORADO ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUCCESSFULLY HALT ROAD CONSTRUCTION, FOR NOW
A federal judge in Colorado approved a 10-day restraining order requested by two environmental groups in an attempt to halt construction of an access road to a proposed development at the base of Wolf Creek Ski Area, pending further hearings.
The order came just days after the U.S. Forest Service approved a permit for the road. Colorado Wild, based in Durango, and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council of Alamosa have filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service, hoping to overturn authorization of the planned development, including its connecting roads.
The lawsuit alleges that the Forest Service didn’t analyze the development’s full impact, a violation of the law. It also claims that Peter Clark, Forest Supervisor, illegally amended the final decision on construction of new roads.
The proposed Village at Wolf Creek would contain residential units for as many as 10,500 people, and at least 250,000 feet of commercial space next to the ski area. The surrounding area is currently home to fewer than 1,000 year-round residents. The construction would take place on a 300-acre parcel of private land surrounded by the Rio Grande National Forest.
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2. ALASKA MOVES FORWARD WITH CONTROVERSIAL JUNEAU ROAD
The state of Alaska is moving forward with plans to begin construction of a controversial road linking Juneau to the Northern Lynn Canal and, ultimately, the state road system.
Alaska’s Department of Transportation has requested bids for construction of 13-21 miles of gravel track while it awaits permits from the Army Corps of Engineers authorizing a more permanent paved road.
Outgoing Governor Frank Murkowski, a Republican, said the federal permitting process is slowing the road’s construction and could increase the costs of building it.
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3. YELLOWSTONE WINTER USE PLAN MEETS WITH CRITICISM
The National Park Service has announced its intention to maintain current snowmobile regulations in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This decision comes just months after the Park Service claimed its commitment to maintaining the health of Park environments by reaffirming conservation as the number one Park responsibility.
The regulations will allow 720 snowmobiles per day in Yellowstone and 140 snowmobiles per day in Grand Teton. These quotas are the same as those found in the “temporary” plan now in effect. Requirements for “best available” pollution control technology and for all Yellowstone snowmobilers to be accompanied by commercial guides will also remain.
Jon Catton, a Montana-based conservationist, argues that the new plan ignores Park Service policies that require the agency to act in the best interests of the environment. Catton said, “This proposal represents an unfortunate U-turn by the administration only months after it pledged to emphasize conservation in our national parks.”
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4. PARK SERVICE RETIREES ENDORSE SNOWCOACHES IN YELLOWSTONE
The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has endorsed a plan that would limit snowmobile use Yellowstone National Park, and allow only snowcoach transportation. Their decision was based on the need to continue to improve air quality in the park.
Two new scientific reports posted on the Yellowstone Park website claim cleaner air in the park is due primarily to lower numbers of snowmobiles. The first report, from the National Park Service Air Resources Division directly links higher park air quality to few snowmobiles in recent winters. The second report cautions that despite improved emissions, new four-stroke snowmobiles remain “much dirtier than light-duty cars and trucks.” It claims that peak concentration of carbon monoxide in Yellowstone’s air are higher in winter with an average of 250 snowmobiles per day compared to summer, when traffic is 60 times higher.
Over the past three winters of a temporary use plan, an average of 250 snowmobiles per day have generated around 114 tons of carbon dioxide per year. A snowcoach-only plan would generate about 37 tons of carbon dioxide annually, while the maximized snowmobile use plan would create 267 tons of CO2 per year.
Bill Wade, a former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park and chairman of the Coalition said, “It’s time for the Bush administration to be accountable to its own scientific studies and put clean air in Yellowstone National Park first instead of catering to the snowmobile industry.”
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5. MONTANA FOREST APPROVES NEW WINTER-USE PLAN
After more than five years of development, Montana’s Flathead National Forest has approved a winter motorized recreation plan.
The new regulations largely correspond to a settlement reached in 2001 between the Montana Snowmobile Association and the Montana Wilderness Association. However, the new plan allows extended spring seasons in four different areas of the forest.
The policy allows for continued snowmobiling on about 91% of the terrain. The Wilderness Association had sought further restrictions in parts of the forest that had been deemed “primitive” and “semi-primitive,” thereby worthy of further protection, in an earlier management plan.
The new rules also extend the general snowmobiling season until the end of March, and through the months of April and May in certain areas. Keith Hammer of the Swan View Coalition contends that these extensions compound impacts on threatened grizzly bears emerging from their winter dens. Forest planner Rob Carlin counters that the new policy vastly reduces impacts on grizzlies by limiting the places where they can go. The number of acres of potential denning habitat available to snowmobiling has been reduced from 133,000 (prior to 2001) to 32,000 acres.
The new plan will not take effect until a 45-day appeal period has passed, followed by a 45-day Forest Service response period. The plan can be found online at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead.
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6. NORTH IDAHO SNOWMOBILING RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
A U. S. District Judge has issued an order re-opening portions of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest to snowmobiling. Trail and off-trail snowmobiling will now be allowed in popular places such as Priest Lake. The forest provides critical habitat for a herd of about 35 endangered woodland caribou.
This ruling is the latest development in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging federal analysis of snowmobile impacts on the caribou. The suit, filed against the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alleges that the agencies failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act as it affects the management of the caribou herd.
In September, an order prohibiting snowmobiling in the Caribou Recovery Area was issued. It also called for further proceedings to refine the scope of the restrictions, and called upon conservation and snowmobile groups to work together towards a mutually-agreeable plan.
Both parties did in fact work together to produce such a proposal, which was submitted to the court along with a plan drafted by the Forest Service. The joint plan maintained many of the restrictions, while the Forest Service proposal called for the opening of additional areas and trails for snowmobile access. The joint plan was rejected, while the judge ruled that the Forest Service plan “best encompasses the goals and protections of the Endangered Species Act and is the most narrowly tailored in scope to achieve them.”
This latest order will most likely remain in place until the Idaho Panhandle Forest develops a winter use plan, which could take a year or more.
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7. MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA REINFORCES PROPOSED OFF-ROAD VEHICLE BAN
The Finance and Improvements Committee of Minot, North Dakota’s City Council voted for the second time to recommend that the council adopt a ban on off-road vehicles in the town.
A current ordinance allows snowmobiles and off-road vehicles to take the shortest route in and out of town on city streets, with the exception of main arterials. On the advice of the chief of police, Jeff Balentine, the council is considering banning off-road vehicles for safety reasons. Balentine has noted that North Dakota’s three largest cities have already passed restrictions removing off-road vehicles from their streets.
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8. MICHIGAN RANGERS ENFORCING OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RESTRICTIONS
Park rangers in Michigan’s Genesee County are cracking down on off-road vehicle riders who stray from the designated motorized recreation area to other parts of county parks. Violators will be ticketed and their vehicles may be impounded.
The announcement came after the Genesee County Park Commission received multiple complaints of damage caused by off-road vehicles. “They’ve been causing quite a bit of disturbance to the neighbors, tearing up the land and grass and causing big ruts,” said Greg Parks, head ranger for the county parks system.
Catching violators is not easy, and the Commission has sent out a letter requesting that offenders be reported.
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9. ARIZONA LEGISLATURE MAY REQUIRE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PERMITS
A campaign is underway to convince the Arizona Legislature to require off-road vehicle owners to purchase an annual permit in order to ride on public lands and rights of way. Supporters of the plan, including the state Department of Fish and Game, say that the proposal would provide additional funding to enhance education and law-enforcement efforts, as well as improved trail maintenance.
A similar proposal failed during the 2006 legislative session. The 2006 bill was criticized as an infringement of individual rights, and the Sierra Club, among others, claimed it didn’t include adequate environmental protections.
The Department of Fish and Game has said current funding is not sufficient to handle needs for trail development, law enforcement, and other needs resulting from the dramatic increase in Arizona off-road vehicle recreation.
Similar permitting programs are already in place in states such as California and Utah.