Groups clash over off-road vehicle access
Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network
June 25, 2001
Over 70,000 snowmobiles travel through Yellowstone National Park each winter.
Increasingly, the backcountry trails of America’s National Parks are filled with jet skis, swamp buggies, snowmobiles and 4 x 4 trucks. A new poll released by polling service Zogby International found that American voters oppose allowing off-road vehicles in National Parks by a 67 to 29 percent margin.
But while the poll shows voters support initiatives to remove the noisy vehicles, some environmental groups claim the Bush administration isn’t listening.
In fact, claims William H. Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, Bush administration officials are meeting with off-road vehicle industry representatives and are considering weakening critical protections for Yellowstone and Denali National Parks and more than 20 National Seashores and Lakeshores.
In Yellowstone, the Bush administration indicated it could overturn a rule issued by the Park Service that would phase-out snowmobile use in the Park. Such a move would fly in the face of public support for the phase-out. Information gathered by the Park Service indicates that 66 percent of respondents support getting rid of snowmobiles.
But off-road vehicle advocates say the polls don't reflect reality. A clearer picture of how Americans feel about off-road vehicles can be deduced from the number of households that now own trucks, says Dan Strà, president of the JonFund Off Road Vehicle Association.
Off-road advocates contend that the tactic of closing off parks to vehicles is exclusionary and reserves the use of public lands for only certain segments of recreational users.
"The OHV users are uniting to educate people about wise use of land versus what seems to be a policy of closure and a position of no use taken by many environmentalists," says Strà.
Environmentalists contend that the vehicles scare off wildlife, damage trails and ruin the wilderness experience for other visitors. And while the Clinton administration supported scaling back Park access to off-road vehicles, the Bush administration is looking to undo the legacy of his predecessor.
"The Bush administration is accelerating closed-door negotiations with the industry," said Jon Catton, a spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "Against this backdrop, the message from the American people is loud and clear: stop putting special interests ahead of protecting our National parks."
"We urge President Bush to listen to the public and prevent National Parks from deteriorating into nothing more than motorized amusement parks," said Sean Smith, Public Lands Director for Bluewater Network.