CODY, Wyo. — Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said her staff members are preparing for a normal winter season despite a court ruling against snowmobiling in the park.
Lewis told the Cody Chamber of Commerce on Monday that fuel-storage tanks are being filled and poles are going up to mark snowmobile routes in Yellowstone.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the park’s winter-use plan a couple of weeks ago, saying wildlife could be harmed by the noise and air pollution from snowmobiles. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with environmentalists in setting aside the plan to allow 540 snowmobiles each day into Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway.
Lewis said she has been working with advisers and attorneys since the ruling to figure out what the legal options are for allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone.
Separately, Wyoming’s congressional delegation on Tuesday urged the Department of the Interior to enact an interim plan that would allow snowmobiles and snowcoaches in the parks this winter. U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, all Republicans, made their case in a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.
“Gateway communities in our state are struggling to prepare for the winter season under the cloud of uncertainty created by recent legal battles over winter use,” the delegation said in its letter. “Immediate action by your department can help to provide stability to these communities.”
On Monday, Lewis wouldn’t speculate on possible solutions and said she’s unsure how the issue may be resolved.
However, she ruled out opening the park to snowmobiles by issuing a memorandum or administrative order.
“Any administrative process we put through will still be subject to litigation, so it isn’t a panacea,” she said.
Another option — attaching language to a continuing spending resolution before Congress — didn’t happen before that bill was passed last week. Lewis said that as a result, no legislative answer is likely anytime soon.
The park’s winter season is scheduled to begin Dec. 15. Lewis said she hopes to have some news on the issue before long. She said she is aware of the issue’s importance to communities near Yellowstone that benefit from winter tourism in the park.
“Whatever we do, we have a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time,” she said.
