I commend the Environmental Protection Agency for speaking out in favor of a National Park Service ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (News, April 30).
As the park service’s rigorous scientific studies have already demonstrated, snowmobiles pollute the air and water, threaten human health, compromise visitor enjoyment and harm wildlife in the parks.
The EPA’s statement is significant because it clashes with the Bush administration’s desire to cancel the current National Park Service rule that would phase out snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. It will also add steam to a bipartisan effort I am leading in Congress to protect Yellowstone and Grand Teton for future generations of Americans to enjoy.
Along with 100 other members of both parties, I have sent a letter to President Bush asking him not to overturn the scientifically sound snowmobile phase-out rule. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing a bill in Congress that would make this rule the law of the land and thus end all administration attempts to roll it back.
