Yellowstone - BRC Goes Deep

[JoseCuervo]

Hey Hangar,

I'll bring you back some pictures from West Mtn. I was up there this past weekend digging the cabin out of the snow, and I had to dig thru about 3 foot of snow on the flats. We should have plenty of snow for boondocking, but I am sure that powdery stuff will be bumpier than hell on the groomed trails after about mid-day on Saturday.

Did you find it interesting in this last judge's ruling that he does not claim any of the procedural claims you were arguing? That he does not claim the machines do meet an emissions standard? The only thing the judge is worried about is the "companies that rely on snowmobiling in the parks would suffer irreparable harm due to lost business."

Is it now the Courts responsibility to overturn Rules that might hurt some business' ability to make a profit? Are we now assuring private companies the right to a profit?

Appearantly the Judge is more worried about the harm to some free-enterprise businessman than he is to the health of the Park Service employees, the animals, and the well-being of others who wish to visit YNP.

 

[Hangar18]

Did you find it interesting in this last judge's ruling that he does not claim any of the procedural claims you were arguing? That he does not claim the machines do meet an emissions standard?

He does not need to claim this, it is simply a fact that cannot be argued one way or the other. The NPS set rules saying machines must meet a set of standards to be allowed in the park. No standards, no park entry. What is left to claim?

U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that without the order, companies that rely on snowmobiling in the parks would suffer irreparable harm due to lost business.

This is interesting. I could spin it, but why bother. I agree with you on this point.

Here is what is posted on the BRC website

He agreed that:

1. The 01 plan failed to take a "Hard Look" at the issues, particularly the impact of the "snow coach only" rule.

2. The 01 plan was a "prejudged political decision", as evidenced by a memorandum from Assiistant Secretary of Interior Barry ordering all parks to ban snowmobiles, prior to the final EIS being released.

3. The EIS failed to allow meaningful participation by the state and local "cooperating agencies", when NPS only gave them 11 days to respond to a new alternative, never offered before, and refused requests by the governors of all three affected states for an extension of time to respond.

4. The EIS failed to give the public adequate time to participate when the final EIS was "officially released" by printing in the Federal Register the same day the EIS closed public comment.

5. The EIS violated the Administraive Procedures Act because it failed to adequately explain why the agency went 180 degrees from the Draft EIS, where all Draft Alternatives allowed continued snowmobile use, while the final EIS Preferred Alternative banned snowmobiles.

So...what's next??? More appeals I am sure. In the meantime, better enjoy a winter ride in the park while you can. I've never done it though I grew up 60 miles south.

You are probably right about the trails on West Mtn. Get there early for the ride up and be thankful for the great suspensions on the new sleds. I put new shocks on mine this year and have had no lower back issues since. Be careful though, avy danger is fairly high. Wear a beacon and carry a shovel & probe. I will not ride with anyone that is not equipeed with these three things. Have a great time.

 

[BHR]

Elkgunner,

"Boondocking"? Cabin in the woods? Voted for Bush in 2000 even though you new he was opposed to dam breeching? I'm starting to think you are a fraud. I'm starting to think that you have found pity in the past for Ithaca and Buzz's misguided thinking and decided to help them out a bit. Heaven knows they need the help.

I also think that you like to stir the pot a bit just to keep the debate lively! Am I warm?

Paul

 

[BuzzH]

Hey Paul, misguided thinking, is at least...thinking.

I wish I could say you think at all...misguided or otherwise.

 

[Hangar18]

Damn Gunner, I just found this. And to think I'm leaving for a 5 day snowmobile trip in Island Park tomorrow morning and won't be here to argue. Too bad. Hope you have fun at West Mountain this weekend. Snow is deep.

 

[Hangar18]

DAMN! Can't figure out how to edit the previous post. Here is the info in full ElkGunner fashion.

Federal judge overturns ban on snowmobiling in Yellowstone

CHEYENNE - A federal district judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday setting aside a pending ban on snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that without the order, companies that rely on snowmobiling in the parks would suffer irreparable harm due to lost business.

He also ordered the National Park Service to develop temporary rules for the remainder of the 2004 season that would be fair to snowmobile owners and users, businesses and the environmental community, including use of cleaner, quieter snowmobiles.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal welcomed the news.

"The people that are suffering under the move toward banning snowmobiles are the small-business owners in and around the parks," he said in a statement. "They relied upon one rule only to find out the day before this season opened that they would be forced to operate under a much stricter rule, which has already cost the state dearly in terms of impacts on its tourism industry."

Michael Scott, executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation group, called the ruling "terribly unfortunate."

"Yellowstone was clearly on a path to a better future, to cleaner air, to healthier wildlife … and I think this ruling potentially puts that in jeopardy. And that's a sad day for the future of Yellowstone," he said.

Steven Bosak, spokesman for the National Parks Conservation Association, a non-profit group that works to protect the parks and is an intervenor in the case, said Brimmer's decision was "a step backward" for Yellowstone.

"It's not surprising. We are disappointed," he said.

David McCray, a snowmobile-business operator in West Yellowstone, Mont., said his concern now is the potential confusion the ruling may cause, particularly approaching the President's Day holiday weekend.

"To once again change the rules for this year - if there's any advantage for West Yellowstone businessmen, it's going to be negligible," he said.

Messages left Tuesday evening for a spokeswoman at Yellowstone National Park and for the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association were not immediately returned.

Brimmer's ruling seems to conflict with a Dec. 16 order by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., but Brimmer said otherwise in his own order.

Sullivan reinstated a 2001 Clinton-era phase-out of snowmobiles the day before the 2003-04 season was to start. A complete ban would be imposed by next winter. The opinion disrupted plans by rangers, tourists and businesses that rely on the motorized sleds.

Sullivan's ruling allows only mass-transit snowcoaches in the parks by next winter.

Following issuance of that order, the state of Wyoming and snowmobile manufacturers asked Brimmer to revive a case filed in 2000 that challenged the Clinton administration ban.

That case led to a settlement in 2001 between the Bush administration, and the state and snowmobile groups. The settlement reduced the number of snowmobiles allowed in the parks and the Rockefeller Memorial Parkway connecting them and required cleaner-burning machines but did not ban the sleds outright.

"Effects from the 2001 Snowcoach Rule are felt by a large portion of the population, from local businesses and concessionaires, to citizens all over the country who visit the Parks throughout the winter," Brimmer wrote.

He said the matter should be left to the National Park Service, not the courts.

"A single Eastern district judge shouldn't have the unlimited power to impose the old 2001 rule on the public and the business community, any more than a single Western district judge should have the power to opt for a different rule," he said.

"Rather, these issues should be left in the care of the (Park Service), the administrative agency into whose hands the public has entrusted this matter."

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition had argued that the Wyoming court does not have jurisdiction to grant an injunction because it would directly conflict with the order of the D.C. court.

"This Court wants to make clear that the issue in this case is not the validity or the wisdom of the D.C. District Court's December 16, 2003, Judgment and Memorandum Opinion," Brimmer wrote. "The issue in this case is the validity of the 2001 Snowcoach Rule, a matter over which this Court has had jurisdiction since December 6, 2000. These two issues are separate and distinct and there are no issues of judicial comity presented by this Court deciding the validity of the 2001 Snowcoach Rule."

"Comity" is defined as the informal and voluntary recognition by courts in one jurisdiction of the decisions of another.

Brimmer said that the doctrine of judicial comity has no application unless an identical complaint is filed in two different federal courts, "which no one contends is the case here."

The Cheyenne-based judge also said the D.C. court was aware of the pending litigation in Wyoming over the validity of the 2001 snowcoach rule, "but still asserted jurisdiction over the issue of the 2003 Rule."

The poor babies. Play their game with their rules and then beat them. Now it's time the West Yellowstone business community sues Judge Sullivan and all the "non-profits" for lost revenue this winter.

 

[Hangar18]

EG - How was your ride last weekend?

 

[BHR]

Yea EG,

How was your ride? I hope it was on one of those newer quiet, and less polluting machines we've been hearing about. Did Ithaca ride with you?

Paul

 

[JoseCuervo]

Hangar,

The riding ended up being non-eventful, as with the fresh snow, there was no way to pass up SnowBoarding at Brundage for the opportunity to sit on my arse and ride a snowmobile.

So about all the snowmobile riding was on the lake, pulling the kid's sleds and tubes, but the days were spent Boarding some awesome snow. Came back today, as it was raining at lake level in Cascade./

How was your trip to Island Park?

 

[Hangar18]

Glad the boarding was great. The snow in McCall is great this year from what I hear.

Island Park was great. It was sunny and fairly warm (25-30F) Thur-Sat. Unreal how it was going from -20 at night to 30 by 3PM. The snow was fairly hard and set up so you had to get in the trees to get stuck in the powder. I have some great pictures we took from the top of Mt. Jefferson but haven't taken them off the camera yet. Sat afternoon it clouded up and snowed during the night. Sunday riding was a blast. I was below reserve when I got back to the cabin after dark. Simply too much fun and not enough time.

Here are a couple of pics of Canadian friends carving their Doos on Sunday. This is as close to heaven as it gets right now.

 

[1_pointer]

I need to do that at least once! Thanks for the pics!