Rehberg drafting bill to overturn ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg will introduce legislation that he hopes will overturn the ban on Yellowstone National Park snowmobiling scheduled for next year.

The Montana Republican is also asking for a $50,000 federal grant to help the town of West Yellowstone figure out ways to diversify its economy.

The bill has yet to be written, Rehberg said Wednesday, but it will call for "something close to" the Bush administration's plan for limited numbers of cleaner, quieter snowmobiles in the nation's first national park.

That plan was to be implemented this winter, but was declared illegal Dec. 16 by federal Judge Emmett Sullivan in Washington, D.C.

Ruling in favor of environmental groups, Sullivan ordered the reinstatement of a Clinton-era plan that will phase out all recreational snowmobiling by next winter.

Rehberg made no predictions about what the bill's chances are in Congress.

"I don't kid myself into believing this is an easy issue," he said in a telephone interview. "It's going to be tough sledding."

Last year, the House of Representatives narrowly defeated a measure that would have banned snowmobiling in the park.

It failed on a tie vote, but only because Rehberg was able to convince Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to switch his vote at the last minute. Without that flip-flop, the measure would have passed the House by 211 to 209.

Rehberg said he supports ongoing efforts to have Sullivan's ruling overturned, but wants to cover all the bases by having the legislation ready.

"I honestly believe (the Bush plan) would be a good compromise," he said.

The economic study grant, if awarded, would allow a committee to form and examine ways to diversify West Yellowstone's economy.

Even if Sullivan's ruling is overturned, snowmobile numbers in the park will face some kind of limits, Rehberg said, and the town needs to expand its horizons.

A "transition committee," which includes local supporters and opponents of the snowmobile phaseout, has been meeting for some time, said Fred Rice, operations manager for the town of West Yellowstone.

The amount of cooperation among group members "depends on the day," Rice said, "My hope is we can come up with something we can all agree on."

Economic diversification ideas include building an events center, an ice-skating facility or some type of higher education facility, Rice said, stressing that no decisions have been made.

The group will meet Feb. 12 and Rehberg said he plans to attend.

If the $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce arrives, it will create openings to seek more grants for economic development, Rice said.

Rehberg said similar programs have been implemented in Libby and East Helena after closures of large industrial facilities in those towns.

Dick Dolan, program director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, one of the groups that sued to halt the Bush snowmobile plan, said Wednesday his group is happy to work on economic development issues, as long as they don't include snowmobiling in the park.

"The economic health of the area is directly tied to the ecological health of the park," he said. "We don't believe snowmobiling should be part of Yellowstone's future."

Scott McMillion is at scottm@dailychronicle.com

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