Recent snowmobile ruling likely to lead to more legal wrangling

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer

The latest court ruling in the Yellowstone National Park snowmobile controversy means more sleds can be allowed in the park gates this winter.

However, whether it will mean much in terms of increased traffic remains to be seen. Previous limits have gone unfilled every day so far this winter.

And what the ruling means for next winter is anybody's guess.

Yellowstone spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said Wednesday only that the park will be open next winter. As to whether snowmobiling will be allowed, she referred questions to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"To speculate about what might happen in the future would just add to the confusion," Matthews said.

The legal wrangling is far from over.

"I suspect this is going to end up being sorted out at the appellate court level," said Michael Scott, director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and a foe of snowmobiling in the park.

Here's where the situation stands so far.

Judge Emmett Sullivan, in Washington D.C., ruled Dec. 16 that the Bush administration's snowmobile plan was illegal and ordered the Clinton administration's plan to be reinstalled. That plan calls for snowmobiling to end after this winter.

However, Judge Clarence Brimmer, in Cheyenne, Wyo., ruled Tuesday that the Clinton plan cannot be implemented this winter and likely is illegal.

Since both plans have now been halted by federal district judges, Brimmer ordered the National Park Service to come up with a temporary plan for the last month of the winter season for Yellowstone and for Grand Teton National Park.

The Park Service decided Wednesday that 780 snowmobiles will be allowed in the park every day. That roughly splits the difference between the 493 the Clinton plan allowed for this winter and the 950 the Bush plan allowed for perpetuity.

As for next season, there is no plan.

"This still doesn't solve the long-term question," said Bill Dart, president of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a pro-snowmobiling group, although he said he sees Brimmer's decision as good news.

He predicted the Park Service will have to write a new environmental impact statement for future winter use. But whether that can be completed by next December is an open question.

There is no such process in the works yet, Matthews said.

And that can't happen until legal issues in both courts are reconciled.

Green groups already are looking toward higher courts.

"We are confident that Tuesday's ruling is only a temporary setback," said Ken Miller, of Winter Wildlands Alliance.

All snowmobiles for the remainder of the season must be the cleaner, quieter four strokes approved by the Park Service and all must be accompanied by a guide.

At West Yellowstone, 400 sleds can now enter daily, up 130 from the previous cap.

However, the old cap was not reached at the west entrance for any single day by the end of January. Only during the Christmas holidays did the number of sleds there break 200.

Snowmobile entries have dropped by about two-thirds from last year, something West Yellowstone business people attribute to confusion among the public over just what is allowed in the park.

Both judges cited political interference in Washington, D.C., as one reason for ruling the way they did.

Brimmer faulted the Clinton administration for rushing to install a ban on snowmobiling.

Sullivan faulted the Bush administration for ignoring science.

Scott McMillion is at scottm@dailychronicle.com

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