Reply #21: "Picking on snowmobilers"

[HawkerTyphoon]

Up until now 99.9% of the snowmobiles were 2-cycle engines with no mufflers. They mix their oil in with the gas and burn oil as part of their normal operation. The snowmobile clubs, dealers and manufacturers fought any change, citing the costs of conversion. The Park Service has wanted to ban 2-cycle snowmobiles for many years, but have been tied up in court, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in lawsuits brought by the snowmobile associations.

One 2-cycle snowmobile causes more pollution and noise than 100 cars, not to mention the fact that most cars carry more than one person into the park, and most snowmobiles have only one passenger. The result is more like 300 times the pollution and noise per visitor.

The newer 4-cycle snowmobiles do not mix oil in the gas, so they pollute about the same as a car. They have mufflers and therefore are quieter. The Park service has always said that 4-cycle snowmobiles are OK, they are not "picking on snowmobilers." Most snowmobilers want to continue to come into the park with their loud, smokey 2-cycle snowmobiles.

Harleys: Most Harleys have some sort of baffles or mufflers that help reduce the engine noise. They also have much larger pistons and lower engine speeds. The noise they make is no where near as loud or piercing as snowmobiles. They produce less visible smoke. They must not mix oil in the gas (?), or they would be just as smokey. I have worked in the park for 10 summers and the Harleys come in droves the week before and after the annual Sturgis, SD rally. They are loud, but not as irritating or smokey as 2-cycle snowmobiles.

Inside Yellowstone National Park ALL vehicles must stay on the roads. There is no off road travel by any motor vehicle. Outside the park, on Forest Service land, there are hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails.

"High siding" where you have a contest to see who can climb the highest up a steep hill with out turning over or "chickening out" and hazing bison are just two of the many things that no one but snowmobilers do in the park. Also, the speed limit in the park is 45, sometimes less. Snowmobiles are capable of very high speeds, and a very large % of them do not obey the speed limit, pass on hills/curves, ignore stop signs, drive on the wrong side of the road, etc. As a group, they are known by the rangers to be more likely to beak the traffic laws than the average visitor.

Pick on them? No. Profiling, maybe.