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01-06-2004, 10:38 AM
http://www.billingsgazette.com/printer.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/01/06/stories/wyoming/30-snowmobiles.txt
Snowmobile case surfaces in new court
By MIKE STARK
Of The Gazette Staff
In the latest twist over snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park, a federal judge in Wyoming has agreed to revive a court case that challenged a ban on the machines that was issued near the end of the Clinton administration.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer said on Dec. 31 that he would reopen the case but did not set a schedule for when it would proceed. Attorneys on both sides of the snowmobile fight were notified of the decision Monday.
The decision could mean that the dispute over snowmobiles moves into two federal courts.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Bush administration should not have set aside the previous ban on snowmobiles in favor of a plan to allowing only "cleaner and quieter" sleds into Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
Because of the ruling, the National Park Service is implementing the Clinton-era ban, which means limited numbers of snowmobiles this year and complete prohibition of the machines starting next winter.
That decision has been appealed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. A decision could be handed down some time next week.
Meanwhile, the state of Wyoming asked Brimmer, a former Republican state attorney general, to revive the federal case in Wyoming. That case, which was a response to the snowmobile ban issued in 2000, led to the settlement that eventually yielded the Bush administration's latest proposal.
Officials at the Wyoming attorney general's office, which asked Brimmer to reopen the case, could not be reached for comment Monday.
But Michael O'Donnell, chief deputy attorney general, said late last month that the state wanted to challenge how the settlement was carried out. He said the state and others are hoping Brimmer will allow this winter season to proceed as planned under the Bush administration plan while the rest of the legal issues are examined.
It seems strange that Wyoming and members of the snowmobile industry are challenging the snowmobile rule in two separate federal courts, said Doug Honnold, an attorney with Earthjustice, which has handled the snowmobile cases on behalf of several environmental groups.
"It's kind of odd if at the same time they're asking the court of appeals in D.C. to give them what they want and, without waiting to hear that decision, they go to a different judge and ask for the same relief," Honnold said. "I think that would be a pretty odd way of practicing law."
The case in Wyoming was completed when the settlement was carried out, he added.
"To me, that's the beginning and end of discussion," Honnold said.
While the legal jostling continues, officials at Yellowstone have been trying to make sure the public knows the park is open but under different rules than were expected.
"It is absolutely gorgeous in the park right now," Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said Monday afternoon. "Hopefully we're getting the word out that the park is open."
Under Sullivan's ruling to implement the snowmobile ban, 493 snowmobiles a day are allowed into Yellowstone this year. So far, the daily limit hasn't been reached.
Since winter season started Dec. 17, 4,705 snowmobiles have entered the park, including nearly 7,000 drivers and passengers. More than 3,800 people have entered on a snowcoach, which will be the only motorized form of access into Yellowstone for visitors next year, according to the ruling.
There's no shortage of opinion from those visiting Yellowstone this year.
Comments at visitor centers and warming huts have run the gamut in responding to Sullivan's decision.
"There are some that are extremely disappointed and others that are pleased," Lewis said. "There's no clear one way about it."
Lewis helped oversee development of the latest snowmobile proposal, which would have allowed about 950 sleds per day that meet noise and pollution requirements. The plan, she said, provided protection for Yellowstone's natural resources and ensured access for snowmobilers.
But Sullivan said the Park Service, in its previous decision to ban snowmobiles, already determined that even newer snowmobile technology would be harmful to the parks. He also said the Bush administration plan appeared to be "completely politically driven" and that its justification had "proven weak at best."
Lewis on Monday wouldn't speculate about whether the Park Service should have taken a different tack in developing the new plan.
"I don't live by regrets," Lewis said.
The 2003 plan was first aimed at protecting the park's resources and then looked at the "maximum amount of visitor use and experience" possible while keeping those protections in place, Lewis said.
The plan was accepted by snowmobile enthusiasts and gateway communities that depend on winter business but was unpopular with those who chose to provide comments to the federal government.
In the latest round of comments in the fall, more than 100,000 people voiced their opinions, the vast majority using form letters. According to the Park Service, 91 percent opposed the new plan. During previous comment periods, roughly 80 percent opposed overturning the ban on snowmobiles.
Lewis said the Park Service tried to examine the reasons why people opposed the new plan - usually over concerns for wildlife, people and air quality - and addressed those issues the final proposal.
She declined to give her personal opinion over the judge's decision and instead focused on her support for park staff and a mission to protect Yellowstone and give visitors a "high quality" experience.
"Yellowstone is implementing the judge's orders as we are bound to do," Lewis said.
Snowmobile case surfaces in new court
By MIKE STARK
Of The Gazette Staff
In the latest twist over snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park, a federal judge in Wyoming has agreed to revive a court case that challenged a ban on the machines that was issued near the end of the Clinton administration.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer said on Dec. 31 that he would reopen the case but did not set a schedule for when it would proceed. Attorneys on both sides of the snowmobile fight were notified of the decision Monday.
The decision could mean that the dispute over snowmobiles moves into two federal courts.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Bush administration should not have set aside the previous ban on snowmobiles in favor of a plan to allowing only "cleaner and quieter" sleds into Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
Because of the ruling, the National Park Service is implementing the Clinton-era ban, which means limited numbers of snowmobiles this year and complete prohibition of the machines starting next winter.
That decision has been appealed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. A decision could be handed down some time next week.
Meanwhile, the state of Wyoming asked Brimmer, a former Republican state attorney general, to revive the federal case in Wyoming. That case, which was a response to the snowmobile ban issued in 2000, led to the settlement that eventually yielded the Bush administration's latest proposal.
Officials at the Wyoming attorney general's office, which asked Brimmer to reopen the case, could not be reached for comment Monday.
But Michael O'Donnell, chief deputy attorney general, said late last month that the state wanted to challenge how the settlement was carried out. He said the state and others are hoping Brimmer will allow this winter season to proceed as planned under the Bush administration plan while the rest of the legal issues are examined.
It seems strange that Wyoming and members of the snowmobile industry are challenging the snowmobile rule in two separate federal courts, said Doug Honnold, an attorney with Earthjustice, which has handled the snowmobile cases on behalf of several environmental groups.
"It's kind of odd if at the same time they're asking the court of appeals in D.C. to give them what they want and, without waiting to hear that decision, they go to a different judge and ask for the same relief," Honnold said. "I think that would be a pretty odd way of practicing law."
The case in Wyoming was completed when the settlement was carried out, he added.
"To me, that's the beginning and end of discussion," Honnold said.
While the legal jostling continues, officials at Yellowstone have been trying to make sure the public knows the park is open but under different rules than were expected.
"It is absolutely gorgeous in the park right now," Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said Monday afternoon. "Hopefully we're getting the word out that the park is open."
Under Sullivan's ruling to implement the snowmobile ban, 493 snowmobiles a day are allowed into Yellowstone this year. So far, the daily limit hasn't been reached.
Since winter season started Dec. 17, 4,705 snowmobiles have entered the park, including nearly 7,000 drivers and passengers. More than 3,800 people have entered on a snowcoach, which will be the only motorized form of access into Yellowstone for visitors next year, according to the ruling.
There's no shortage of opinion from those visiting Yellowstone this year.
Comments at visitor centers and warming huts have run the gamut in responding to Sullivan's decision.
"There are some that are extremely disappointed and others that are pleased," Lewis said. "There's no clear one way about it."
Lewis helped oversee development of the latest snowmobile proposal, which would have allowed about 950 sleds per day that meet noise and pollution requirements. The plan, she said, provided protection for Yellowstone's natural resources and ensured access for snowmobilers.
But Sullivan said the Park Service, in its previous decision to ban snowmobiles, already determined that even newer snowmobile technology would be harmful to the parks. He also said the Bush administration plan appeared to be "completely politically driven" and that its justification had "proven weak at best."
Lewis on Monday wouldn't speculate about whether the Park Service should have taken a different tack in developing the new plan.
"I don't live by regrets," Lewis said.
The 2003 plan was first aimed at protecting the park's resources and then looked at the "maximum amount of visitor use and experience" possible while keeping those protections in place, Lewis said.
The plan was accepted by snowmobile enthusiasts and gateway communities that depend on winter business but was unpopular with those who chose to provide comments to the federal government.
In the latest round of comments in the fall, more than 100,000 people voiced their opinions, the vast majority using form letters. According to the Park Service, 91 percent opposed the new plan. During previous comment periods, roughly 80 percent opposed overturning the ban on snowmobiles.
Lewis said the Park Service tried to examine the reasons why people opposed the new plan - usually over concerns for wildlife, people and air quality - and addressed those issues the final proposal.
She declined to give her personal opinion over the judge's decision and instead focused on her support for park staff and a mission to protect Yellowstone and give visitors a "high quality" experience.
"Yellowstone is implementing the judge's orders as we are bound to do," Lewis said.