Judge Freezes Snowmobiling Ban in Yellowstone and Grand Teton
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A federal district judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday setting aside a pending ban on snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that without the order, companies that rely on snowmobiling in the parks would suffer irreparable harm because of lost business.
He also ordered the National Park Service to develop temporary rules for the remainder of the 2004 season that would be fair to snowmobile owners and users, businesses and the environmental community, including use of cleaner snowmobiles.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal welcomed the news.
“The people that are suffering under the move toward banning snowmobiles are the small-business owners in and around the parks,” he said in a statement.
Michael Scott, executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation group, called the ruling “terribly unfortunate.”
Brimmer’s ruling follows an order issued Dec. 16 by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., which reinstated a 2001 Clinton-era phaseout of snowmobiles. A complete ban would be imposed by next winter.
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