Snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park (Photo by NPS)
The sublime winter season in Yellowstone National Park attracts visitors throughout the world wanting to experience the superb wildlife watching and range of winter recreational opportunities the park offers. Winter use in Yellowstone, however, has been the subject of controversy for years, from a proposed Presidential ban (Clinton) and un-ban (Bush), to a series of ongoing lawsuits in state and federal courts challenging iterations of the National Park Service’s proposed winter use plans.
Today the National Park Service announced the completion of a new winter use plan that will cover the next two seasons, which was the result of conducting an environmental assessment and public review last fall. Under this plan, the park will allow up to 318 commercially guided, Best Available Technology (BAT) snowmobiles, and up to 78 commercially guided snowcoaches in a day in Yellowstone. It also continues to provide for motorized oversnow travel over Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance road.
The average daily number of snowmobiles entering the park during the 2008/2009 winter season was 205, with a peak of 426 on December 29. For a long-term plan, the National Park Service will conduct a new Environmental Impact report over the next two years to develop a long-range strategy.
This year, Michael Yochim, a 20-year Yellowstone employee, released a well-written and comprehensive book detailing the history of the winter use controversy: Yellowstone and the Snowmobile: Locking Horns over National Park Use. His conclusion? Plow the roads in winter.
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