by Zach Bigalke

Created on: July 12, 2007

The death of Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) has ushered in a perilous new fight by his replacement against the proposed ban of self-guided snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park. John Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon from Casper, has called for the continued unregulated access of snowmobiles across Yellowstone. "Denying access that has been responsibly enjoyed by many of us for decades is simply unacceptable," he wrote in a letter to Superintendent Suzanne Lewis. "Some of my fondest memories in Yellowstone were spent snowmobiling through the park. It is a truly special experience to explore the beauty of the park privately, on one's own terms. This opportunity must not be taken away from future generations."

The problem with Barrasso's argument, which also calls for keeping avalanche-prone Sylvan Pass open year-round, is that he touts the 1916 Organic Act as his basis for unhindered access. This act, as I have written previously, is intended to protect national parks and to permit recreational access within these protective limits. The overwhelming evidence supports the claim that unchecked snowmobile access is environmentally unsound. The noise and air pollution inherent in the use of these vehicles is damaging to the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, and places the supposedly-protected inhabitants of the park under undue stress.

Further, Barrasso neglects the fact that people would still be afforded the right to privately access the park during the winter. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing through the park would still be permitted under the proposed winter-use plan. It is simply self-serving interest which drives Barrasso's arguments. If the plan passes, he would no longer be allowed to race through the park unimpeded by the law.

Governor Dave Freudenthal has made a damaging mistake in appointing Barrasso to take over the seat vacated by Craig Thomas' death. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has stated that the National Park Service must place conservation efforts before recreational rights when evaluating winter-use plans in parks. The science unanimously asserts that unlimited snowmobile access is taxing on both the environment and its inhabitants. Additionally, permitting people to freely roam into known avalanche areas not only places the ecosystem in danger. Barrasso is basically asking the National Park Service to permit citizens who may or may not have appropriate winter backcountry knowledge to risk their lives. He is also asking the Park Service to expend resources which could be better allocated to environmental protection to instead bolster road maintenance and the inevitable search-and-rescue efforts that come from allowing people into avalanche danger zones.

The only interests served by Barrasso's claims and assertions are his own, and the interests of like-minded people who go to Yellowstone not to view the natural beauty but instead to act like boozed-up yokels on powerful internal-combustion vehicles with utter disregard for the sanctity of the location where they conduct their tomfoolery. We must demand better from our leaders. There are enough places to freely ride snowmobiles in Wyoming and throughout the mountain states; placing the world's oldest environmental sanctuary in continued jeopardy is both insulting and ill-sighted. Barrasso only cares about access for this generation; if his ideas become reality, this just may be the last generation that gets to see Yellowstone in all its splendor...

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