Yellowstone Snowmobile Ban Leaves Working Families in the Cold

Submitted by tsm1 on Thu, 01/29/2004 - 11:49
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(WASHINGTON) - The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources testified before a federal judge Monday that, "a ban on snowmobiles [in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks] would cost Wyoming 938 jobs and $11.8 million in lost labor income a year."
For Wyoming, a state with less than 500,000 people (2000, U.S. Census Bureau), the loss of 938 jobs has a tremendous impact on the economy. To put that in perspective, these net job losses in Wyoming are equivalent to 67,743 lost jobs in California, 37, 952 lost jobs in New York, and 12,698 lost jobs in Massachusetts.

"If I proposed a ban on a product that would eliminate 40,000 jobs in New York, you can be sure I would hear from one irate Senator Clinton," said House Resources Committee Chairman, Richard Pombo (R-CA). "This court-imposed ban throws the baby out with the bath water and the jobs out with the snowmobiles."

"Unfortunately, Congressional allies of the radical environmental groups who brought this case before the courts blindly support the ban without a second thought for the working class families who suffer as a result," Pombo continued. "These families are the innocent victims here. New technologies and common sense enable us to strike a balance between preservation and recreation in our national parks."

Democratic-nomination hopefuls have criticized President Bush for being out of touch with 'hard working Americans' while, at the same time, they unsympathetically advocate policies that are putting people out of work. All nine Democratic candidates for president said they support the ban on snowmobiles in a January debate hosted by National Public Radio.

"We should look west for the solution to this issue," Pombo continued. "President Roosevelt's intent is prominently positioned on the arch that stretches over the North entrance to Yellowstone... 'This Park was created and is now administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people...it is the property of Uncle Sam and therefore of us all."

The debate moved from Washington to Cheyenne this week, where a federal district court heard testimony on a parallel case that was reopened after D.C. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in December to impose a Clinton-era rule phasing out snowmobiles entirely by next winter.

The hearings, which began Friday, were set to conclude today. Federal Judge C.A. Brimmer maintains that the case squarely falls under his purview as the harm occurred in his jurisdiction. "I regard Judge Sullivan to be attacking this court," said Brimmer (Casper Star-Tribune, January 24, 2004).

"The decision to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone is more about getting Bill Clinton in the environmental hall of fame than it is about protecting the jobs of folks or protecting the environment," saind Wyoming's solitary voice in Congress, Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY).