CWCS Snowmobile Ban Position

October 6, 2000

Senator Trent Lott
Majority Leader
S-230
The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leader Lott:

Our organization, Conservationists with Common Sense (CWCS), is a requesting your assistance in securing language in any year-end legislative vehicle that would prohibit the Department of Interior from moving forward with the ban on snowmobiling in National Parks. This proposed ban had no environmental impact study conducted on any National Park, or any public input.

CWCS urges you to consider language proposed by Minnesota Senator Rod Grams.

• Ensure continued snowmobile use in 42 units of the National Park System throughout the country under the same rules that were in place on 1/1/2000 (prior to the ban).
• The National Park Service will prepare management plans for appropriate education and enforcement of existing regulations.
• The National Park Service will conduct studies on the impact of snowmobile use in Parks to be used in the future to guide management decisions.

Minnesota is home to two domestic snowmobile manufacturers -- Polaris and Arctic Cat. These two companies employ thousands of people. They have been working with the Environmental Protection Agency to develop more environmentally friendly snowmobiles and have demonstrated a willingness to continue working with the federal government in the future on new emissions regulations.

Conservationists with Common Sense understands that Senator Craig Thomas has been working with the Senate Appropriations Committee to include similar language in a year-end package. Therefore, CWSC asks you to support this common-sense approach to this important issue.