Law, Science, and Public Opinion: Seeking What's Best for Yellowstone:
Many studies over the past decade all have concluded that the best way to protect Yellowstone's health and that of employees and visitors is to phase out snowmobile use in favor of multi-passenger snowcoaches. Even the Administration's latest proposal concedes that the snowcoach option is the "environmentally preferred" option for having Americans visit Yellowstone.

Since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service has never heard from so many Americans about a single national park issue as it has in the past decade about snowmobile use in Yellowstone. A consistent 80 to 90 percent of citizen comments have urged that public access be provided with less intrusive snowcoaches and that snowmobile use be ended within Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Providing visitor access on snowcoaches ensures everyone opportunities to see the winter beauty of Yellowstone without compromising the quality or safety of others' experience, and without inflicting damage on America's most-loved National Park.

Former Park Service Directors Speak Out: Save Yellowstone
A bipartisan group of every living former director of the National Park Service – except one – has joined in a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne urging him to ensure a continued transition away from snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park.

Spanning every Democratic and Republican presidential administration from Lyndon Baines Johnson to Bill Clinton, the seven former NPS leaders say a proposal to allow a return of more snowmobile use in Yellowstone would undercut Kempthorne's commitment to emphasize conservation in the National Parks and circumvent policies he endorsed last year that require the highest protection of air quality, visitor enjoyment of natural quiet, and other national park resources and values.

Seven former directors of the National Park Service signed the letter: George B. Hartzog, Jr. (1964-1972), Ronald H. Walker (1973-1975), Gary Everhardt (1975-1977), Russell E. Dickenson (1980-1985), James M. Ridenour (1989-1993), Roger G. Kennedy (1993-1997) and Robert Stanton (1997-2001). Collectively, the seven led stewardship efforts in the national parks for presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton.

Only Fran Mainella, who resigned last July as NPS director (2001-2006) and is constrained for one year by ethics rules, did not sign the letter.

In the joint letter, the former leaders tell Kempthorne: "Your strong declaration of support for the longstanding management policies that have governed the life of the parks reassured the American public and the Congress that you will insist upon the highest protection of park resources and values and will not allow uses and activities that conflict with this founding principle of the national parks.

"Given this, we must express our alarm over a proposal in Yellowstone National Park that would radically contravene both the spirit and letter of the 2006 Management Policies. The proposal is to escalate snowmobile use as much as three-fold over current average numbers even though scientific studies have demonstrated conclusively that a two-thirds reduction in average snowmobile numbers during the past four winters is principally responsible for significantly improving the health of the park for visitors, employees and wildlife."

The letter continues: "The latest National Park Service study illuminates in detail that allowing Yellowstone's current average of 250 snowmobiles per day to increase - to as many as 720 snowmobiles - would undercut the park’s resurgent natural conditions.... The study also provides clear evidence that reducing snowmobile numbers still further - from 250 per day to zero - while expanding public access on modern snowcoaches, would further improve the park's health."

The letter notes that four National Park Service studies of snowmobile impacts in Yellowstone conducted since 1998 have cumulatively cost $10 million and have produced consistent findings by the agency that "greater volumes of traffic required by an emphasis upon snowmobiling add dramatically to air and noise pollution and disturbance of Yellowstone's wildlife.... On at least three occasions, the Environmental Protection Agency has independently corroborated that providing access by modern snowcoach and phasing out the use of snowmobiles will provide Yellowstone's visitors, employees and wildlife with dramatically healthier conditions."

The former leaders direct their strongest words toward a proposal to allow more, not fewer, snowmobiles in the country’s first national park saying the proposal ignores consistent and newly verified scientific findings, over 80 percent of the public comments received by the National Park Service, and specific park policies that Kempthorne has pledged to uphold.

The full letter is available at http://www.thehastingsgroup.com/NPS_director_joint_letter.pdf.
Please join the former National Park Service Directors and urge the Bush Administration do better by America's first national park.

How to Take Action

Submitting forms: The Draft EIS and an electronic form to submit comments on the Internet can be found at the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. The Draft EIS is also available on CD or in hard copy by writing the Winter Use Planning Team, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190.

Deadline is May 31

Snail mail: If you cannot use the electronic form, you may send this hard copy form and/or your letter to: Winter Use Planning Team, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190