Opinion

Compromise rightly allows winter park access

By Sen. John Barrasso

This document was published online on Thursday, December 04, 2008

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Recent legal turmoil brings our attention back to winter access in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

The National Park Service has announced that it will comply with a Wyoming Federal District Court ruling to reinstate management for winter use. This is a positive step in a long journey for Wyoming.

There is no doubt that some in the environmental community will object to this ruling, and argue that the parks should be shut down in all winter months. I would suggest that these activists are ignoring the basic tenet of our nation's public lands: public access.

The mission of the Park Service is to preserve and manage our nation's lands for the enjoyment of the people. Yet, some activists suggest that eliminating snowmobile travel would somehow benefit the public.

People must be allowed, even invited, to enjoy these crown jewels of our country. We in Wyoming are proud to host millions of visitors every year. We hope everyone can enjoy the splendor of Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks in all seasons. Efforts to eliminate access to the parks deny the public's opportunity to enjoy their national parks.

Snowmobile management plans are the result of years of collaboration between Wyoming stakeholders and federal officials.

We have worked hard to reach a sustainable compromise. The people of Wyoming believe in providing access to our lands, without harming the natural values that make them so wondrous. Wyoming's gateway communities have provided opportunities for visitors to access the parks for more than a century. These communities depend upon sustainable policies for land management, and the entire state benefits from the tourism and recreation of our visitors.

Any outside observer can see that a few snowmobiles in more than 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone Park are hardly harmful.

Rather, those snowmobiles allow families to enjoy the wonders of Yellowstone in the winter. Snowmobile travel is limited to the existing road structure, a trained guide is required, and use is managed by the Park Service.

This is a great opportunity to enjoy wild country in a way unimaginable anywhere else in the world.

Public access to our national parks is a priceless value worth fighting for.

(Sen. Barrasso of Casper was appointed to the Senate last year and was recently elected to that position.)

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