Haslett, Michigan (May 30,2002) - The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA) urged the National Park Service (NPS) to approve regulations that allow for continued snowmobile access to portions of the road systems within Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway that connects them.

The regulations supported by ISMA are contained in a modified Alternative 2, one of the four proposed alternatives contained in a supplemental environmental impact study (SEIS) the NPS has submitted for public comment. The NPS agreed to perform the SEIS as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed against the NPS in response to its plan to ban snowmobiling in these national parks. The other alternatives presented in the SEIS, all opposed by ISMA, would either ban or severely restrict snowmobile access in the parks.

In the group's comments, ISMA told the NPS that current snowmobile use poses no threat to wildlife or the environment at the parks. Further, the comments stated, the rapid conversion to new, cleaner snowmobile technology will further reduce any impact on air quality in the parks.

The group noted that the 65,000 snowmobile visitors that enjoy the park annually are restricted to the 275-mile road system, and any minor impact is limited to that road system. Snowmobile use causes no violations of Clean Air Act standards, has no impact on wildlife populations and noise effects are limited to the road corridors. These impacts, ISMA added, are substantially less that those associated with the 1.5 million automobiles, busses, trucks and motorcycles that enter the parks every year, causing far greater disruption along the same road system. The ISMA comments highlight how less than 1% of the 2.2 million acre park (half the size of the state of Connecticut) is accessible by snowmobile, with the remainder of the park functioning as wilderness with no vehicular access of any kind.

ISMA strongly recommended that the Park Service reject a snowmobile ban and adopt instead a new winter use plan for the park that provides for rapid conversion of nearly three-quarters of the snowmobiles entering the parks to the new technology snowmobiles, as well as continued restriction of snowmobiles to the existing road system.

The manufacturers continue to support strict enforcement of reasonable speed limits, entrance limits and numerous adaptive management techniques initiated by the new "progressive" park management team.