2004

December 16, 2004
Request to Stop New Hampshire Snowmobile Trail Denied. " The Appalachian Mountain Club's $9 million education center in Crawford Notch will be abuzz with the sound of snowmobiles this winter. Yesterday, [Judge Edward Fitzgerald] denied the organization's request to temporarily stop construction of the state's snowmobile trail, which will encircle the AMC's center. ... Fitzgerald agreed that the AMC would suffer irreparable harm from the trail, specifically because it bisects the property, according to Walter Graff, deputy director of the AMC. "He also agrees that the trail will impact AMC's guests, visitors and school programs - it runs within 300 feet of the lodge," he said." (Concord Monitor)

December 4, 2004
Out of bounds: Snowmobile skiers find thrills, conflict atop Vail Pass. "It's a love-hate relationship," [former World Cup ski racer Mike] Brown said of the different user groups, adding the key is to honor the Forest Service use designations and be cognizant of who you're sharing the backcountry with. "You're going to get the odd idiot who thinks they can go anywhere, but for the most part people respect it." (Rocky Mountain News)

December 3, 2004
Canadian Court rules snowmobiles a source of noise pollution. "A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled snowmobiles are a source of noise pollution. The judge says residents living near a snowmobile trail in the Laurentians north of Montreal should be compensated." (Montreal Gazette, CBC)

December 1, 2004
Snowmobile crackdown promised. Forest Service says patrols will seek violators entering prohibited areas. "The U.S. Forest Service plans to crack down on snowmobile riders entering the wilderness or other closed areas in the mountains west of Reno and might begin doing so during the night, a top ranger said Wednesday." (Reno Gazette Journal)

November 23, 2004
New rules in effect for snowmobiles. "Winter recreation restrictions in the Dutchman Flat/Tumalo Mountain area have changed since Deschutes National Forest officials first announced in May they were banning snowmobiles from about 1,375 acres. About 22 acres on the southwestern side of Dutchman Flat have since been designated for snowmobile use, said Chris Sabo, a Bend Fort-Rock District ranger. The new acreage is a compromise with snowmobilers who disagreed with the boundaries drawn in May that restricted the areas in which they could ride. "They actually requested more area to play in and this is what was decided upon," Sabo said." (Bend Bulletin)

November 4, 2004
Judge upholds Molas Pass snowmobile ban. "The decision of a federal district court judge in Denver this week that upholds a 3 1/2-year-old ban on snowmobiles on 200 acres around Andrews Lake on Molas Pass was well-received Wednesday by Forest Service officials." (Durango Herald)

October 15, 2004
Judge Rejects Yellowstone Snowmobile Ban. "A federal judge Friday struck down a Clinton-era ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks - a move expected to leave the parks open to the vehicles for at least the next three winters. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that the ban - aimed at preventing air and noise pollution and protecting wildlife - was imposed without adequate participation from the public and the states of Montana and Wyoming. ... National Park Service officials are already drafting new rules for the next three winters. The tentative plans call for up to 720 guided snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone this winter..." (Guardian)

October 9, 2004
Forest Service calls for access roads at Wolf Creek. "The Forest Service is proposing two roads for access to a private parcel of land atop Wolf Creek Pass where a wealthy Texas investor wants to build a large resort village. ... B.J. "Red" McCombs, who parlayed car-dealership investments into the Clear Channel Communications radio empire ... has proposed building 2,200 units with 220,000 square feet of commercial space on the parcel, which is surrounded by public land and is adjacent to the Wolf Creek Ski Area." (Denver Post)

September 17, 2004
Forest Service plan upheld despite objections, appeals from all sides. "The U.S. Forest Service's Washington, D.C., headquarters has upheld the vast majority of a new management plan for the White River National Forest over objections of several diverse groups, according to the forest supervisor's office." (Aspen Times)

July 2, 2004
Snowmobiles, Yellowstone don't mix. "During six different public comment periods, nearly half a million citizens have urged the National Park Service, by a 4-to-1 margin, to protect Yellowstone National Park by replacing snowmobile use with snow coaches. ... The howl of a lone wolf above the Lamar Valley in the heart of Yellowstone as the sun rises over a winter white world cannot be heard over the din of an engine, no matter that it is cleaner and more efficient." (Cincinnati Enquirer)

June 12, 2004
The Snowmobile Menace. "Congress can take a big step this week toward ending the long-running dispute over snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. A bipartisan group in the House of Representatives will offer an amendment to the Interior Department appropriations bill that would prohibit snowmobiles in both parks beginning next winter. [The amendment] would be a victory for the parks, their wildlife and the many thousands of visitors who come to enjoy both. A brief history for those tuning in late: With overwhelming public support, the National Park Service decided in 2000 to phase in a ban on the machines. The Bush administration, for reasons that have never been clear or credible, decided shortly after taking office to reverse the ban. The matter has bounced in and out of court ever since. Nobody loses if the machines are banned. ... There will, however, be many winners." (New York Times - registration required)

June 7, 2004
Small-time ski operator fights for his life. "Davey Pitcher, the president of Wolf Creek Ski Area ... is preparing to go toe-to-toe with Texas billionaire Billy Joe "Red" McCombs, co-founder of the media behemoth, Clear Channel Communications Inc. McCombs and his venture partner, Bob Honts, an Austin, Texas-based real estate developer, want to build the state's biggest ski resort village on a 288-acre enclave in the middle of Wolf Creek Ski Area. "The Village at Wolf Creek" would include 1,200 rooms in three hotels, 129 lots for single-family homes, 1,661 multi-family units, 4,525 covered parking spaces, 222,000 square feet of commercial space - and a population of 10,000, year-round. ... "Skier-driven, backcountry-oriented ski areas like Wolf Creek are an endangered species in this state," [Pitcher] says. "We refuse to take a 'build it and they will come' view of skiing." (High Country News)

June 3, 2004
Court upholds snowmobile pollution rule. "Federal appeals court judges upheld tougher pollution controls on snowmobiles Tuesday but asked why the Environmental Protection Agency rule would exempt almost a third of newly built snowmobiles." ... "Snowmobiles are the dirtiest vehicles on the road or off the road. They emit as much pollution in a single hour of operation as a car emits over 24,000 miles of driving." (Casper Star-Tribune)

May 20, 2004
Forest Service accused of failing to enforce snowmobile ban near Lake Tahoe. "The leader of the successful effort to ban snowmobiles from parts of a Sierra meadow above Lake Tahoe says the Forest Service is failing to rein in trespassers who drive the machines into wilderness areas near Mount Rose." (San Diego Union Tribune, Las Vegas Sun)

May 19, 2004
Forest Service calls snowmobile regulations a success "Separation of snowmobiles from quieter forms of winter recreation in a popular Sierra meadow appears to be working well three years after the regulations were put in place, U.S. Forest Service officials said. But the woman who led efforts to ban snowmobiles from most of the Tahoe Meadows insists the government is failing to address continued trespass of the machines into wilderness areas." (Reno Gazette Journal)

May 11, 2004
Ban snowmobiles in park, letter says. "Three former National Park Service directors and three other former high-ranking officials on Monday urged Interior Secretary Gale Norton to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park. ... The letter, like others in the past, pointed out that Park Service and Environmental Protection Agency studies say that the best option for protecting air quality, noise levels, wildlife and human health in Yellowstone is to phase out snowmobiles." (Billings Gazette)

May 10, 2004
Summit County snowmobiler protests latest recreation path rules. "...county officials say a majority of residents are concerned that snowmobiles are noisy and interfere with wildlife. Regulations that have been on the books for years state that snowmobilers can ride along the side of most roads, but not on rec paths, said assistant county attorney Frank Celico. If he can't ride on rec paths, Casselberry said he's willing to ask the U.S. Forest Service to allow snowmobiles in wilderness areas such as Horseshoe Gulch at Tiger Road or under the powerlines between Swan Meadow Village at Royal Coachmen Drive." (Summit Daily News)

April 28, 2004
Snowmobilers, cross country skiers strike deal. "After nearly two years of negotiations and countless hours of mapping roads and trails in the Little Belt and Big Snowy mountains, winter recreationists reached a compromise protecting motorized travel, wilderness areas and quiet, backcountry ski trails." (Great Falls Tribune)

April 25, 2004
MacDonald Pass (MT) biathlon course draws negative response. "The cross-country ski club here thinks the idea is wonderful, but not everyone is so sure a military biathlon course belongs on a piece of the Continental Divide that supports wildlife and offers people a quiet place to recreate." (Helena Independent Record)

April 16, 2004
Fate of forest plan soon to be settled. The fate of controversial issues such as motorized access and the level of logging in the national forest surrounding the Roaring Fork Valley will be settled by top officials in the U.S. Forest Service within the next few weeks. Appeals specialists in the Forest Service's Washington, D.C., headquarters are completing their review of 14 formal objections that were filed over the White River Forest Plan. (Aspen Times)

April 14, 2004
Leaked Administration Documents Show Supposedly 'Quiet' Snowmobiles Loud Enough to Damage Hearing in Yellowstone. New Data Undercuts Case for Re-Introduction of Snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park; the Bush Administration Knew as Early as January But Has Said Nothing Publicly. "New models of four-stroke snowmobiles -- touted as "quieter" by the Bush Administration and supposedly suitable for use in the winter stillness of Yellowstone National Park -- are in fact nearly as noisy as the old two-stroke machines. The snowmobiles also are loud enough to damage hearing, according to internal Administration documents obtained, and released today, by the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees, a group of 230 retired employees and senior leaders of the National Park Service." (Yahoo News)

March 30, 2004
Snowmobiler moved ski trail signs. "During mid-March, somebody on a snowmobile moved markers on the Hogan Park Trail to lead cross country skiers and snowshoers off the marked route. U.S. Forest Service officials are investigating the vandalism and are telling the public about the danger of such actions. ... This vandalism comes as Routt National Forest workers are working on winter recreation analyses of Buffalo and Rabbit Ears passes, which have sparked controversy from snowmobilers who do not want to stay out of nonmotorized areas and from skiers who want more areas designated for nonmotorized use. " (Steamboat Pilot & Today)

March 25, 2004
Keep the Old Faithful. "Former National Park Service directors and a bipartisan list of officials who have served previous presidents ... wrote Ms. Norton, urging that park officials not defer to the industry at the expense of the public. The park is surrounded by public lands open to snowmobilers, so they have many other places to go. The wildlife, and the people who want to experience the park in its natural, silent state, do not." (Palm Beach Post)

March 15, 2004
For Snowmobiles, An Uncertain Fate. "... whether anybody will visit Yellowstone again on a snowmobile is a question that will probably turn on the November election. The Bush administration is determined to permit the vehicles in the two parks. The likely Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), was among the critics of the administration's position." (Washington Post)

March 13, 2004
Snowmobile Standoff. Vehicles Draw Ire at Yellowstone National Park. "It upsets me that we're diminishing it and potentially destroying the place just for an economic benefit," said Tom Murphy a back-country skier and wildlife photographer who has traveled Yellowstone's backcountry for more than twenty years. ... "In fact, the national park charter says nothing about economic benefits, only that parks should be preserved and made available for the continued use and enjoyment of future generations." (ABC News)

March 11, 2004
Appeals court denies stay in snowmobile case. "A federal appeals court has denied a request by conservation groups to temporarily suspend a ruling that led to more snowmobiles being allowed in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks late this winter." (The Billings Gazette)

February 29, 2004
Forest Service cracks down on snowmobilers in Sierra. " In response to an increase in violations, the U.S. Forest Service is cracking down on snowmobilers who venture into prohibited areas in the Sierra Nevada." (Las Vegas Sun)

February 13, 2004
Can skiers and snowmobilers coexist? "Multiple use was fine when the machines weren't so powerful," [says] Ferguson. "Now these snowmobiles are intruding on areas that traditionally only backcountry skiers were able to access. In addition to the noise and the pollution, when these machines go through, they dice up the snow. It doesn't work to have them together." (High Country News, Vail Trail)

January 20, 2004
Tour of Keystone's Snowcat Terrain Planned. With final approval for Keystone's planned snowcat skiing operation only a few weeks away, the U.S. Forest Service and the resort will host a tour of the area on January 24 to give local backcountry skiers and boarders a chance to provide some input on a proposed boundary management plan for the area.