Access Denied!

ACCESS DENIED!

IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNment’s latest move against the use of off-highway vehicles on public lands, the National Park Service has placed limits on the operation of both personal watercraft and snowmobiles in its protected areas. The PWC action, first proposed in 1998, was expected. But the ban on snowmobiling in 42 parks where it was previously permitted came as a surprise.

Arctic Cat CEO and President Chris Twomey called the snowmobile ban, “a premature, over-reaching response that bows to politics, bypasses due process and ignores genuine industry progress on emissions and noise reduction.”

According to Park Service spokesman Gerry Gaumer, the bans do not portend any immediate plans to outlaw other OHVs, including motorcycles, from NPS land. But Gaumer added, “I’m sure it could become an issue.”

The PWC ban, which does not apply to areas developed specifically for water recreation, such as Nevada’s Lake Mead and Utah’s Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, was spurred mostly by complaints about noise and rider behavior made by other boaters and park visitors.

The snowmobile ban, however, is the result of a rule-making petition filed last year with the Department of the Interior by the Bluewater Network and 60 other environmental groups.

The petition called attention to executive orders dating back to the Nixon and Carter adminis trations, which close all public lands to off-road vehicles ex cept where specifically autho rized. The orders also require that OHVs be prohibited wher ever it is determined that their use adversely affects soil, vege tation, wildlife, wildlife habitat, or cultural or historic resources.

OHVs are presently permitted in 20 of the 375 areas managed by the NPS, which include National Parks, National Monuments, National Preserves and National Recreation Areas. The NPS is part of the Department of the Interior, which also administers Bureau of Land Management areas. The Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, heads road construction and maintenance in National Forests, which are also topics of concern for off-roaders.

“Today it’s snowmobiling, and tomorrow it will be campers, equestrians, hikers, motor homes and mountain bikers who will no longer be welcome in our National Parks,” said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association. “It’s important that anyone who enjoys the right to use our nation’s parks realizes what’s happening.”

Charles Plueddeman