Crybaby snowmobilers are confused, not realizing you can snowmobile all over NW Wyoming/Montana

""I´ve seen grown men in tears," said David McCray, who owns Two Top
Snowmobile Rental. "I would like to ask the judge what he expects me
to tell people who have booked for Christmas. I´d like for him to tell
me which people go into the park and which will not. That´s my
immediate problem." "


http://www.idahostatesman.com/story.asp?ID=56543


National forests offer option to Yellowstsone snowmobiling
Wyoming plans to appeal ban in national park
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David Grubbs / Billings Gazette
Snowmobilers line up Wednesday at the West Entrance of Yellowstone
National Park. Under rules now in effect, all snowmobiles in the park
must be guided.


Snowmobiling information



Snowmobilers may not be able to get into Yellowstone National Park,
but riding opportunities are still available in the West Yellowstone
and Island Park area.
A judge´s decision on Tuesday limited snowmobiling in Yellowstone Park
to guided tours and snow coaches, but nearby national forests offer
hundreds of miles of groomed trails and off-trail riding.

"There is lots of riding," said Marysue Costello, executive director
for West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce. "And the snow this year is
so perfect."

Wednesday morning, hundreds of snowmobilers converged on Yellowstone
and neighboring Grand Teton, armed with entrance reservations made
weeks ago. However, the ruling meant that only riders who were part of
commercially guided tours could enter the park.

Yellowstone officials said many people with reservations were turned
away, but that they were offered refunds.

The attorney general of Wyoming, the International Snowmobile
Manufacturers Association and a motorized recreation advocacy group
moved to challenge a federal court ruling that reinstated a ban on
snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

A spokesman for the Bush administration said the National Park Service
is considering an appeal of the ban.

Wyoming Attorney General Patrick J. Crank said his office would appeal
the Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.

"We´re disappointed, but the battle is not over," said Bill Dart,
public lands director for the Pocatello, Idaho-based BlueRibbon
Coalition.

"We can´t give up on it. It sets a bad precedent, and not only for
Yellowstone. We are afraid that this would be a precedent to launch
new attacks against snowmobiles across the country."

Norm Burnel was among those who bristled after being told that his
group of self-guided snowmobilers wouldn´t be allowed to enter
Yellowstone National Park at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"This is a farce," railed Burnel, of Manitoba, with his snowmobile
parked in the dark in front of the West Entrance. "This is against the
law."

The change meant reverting to rules enacted in the Clinton era that
were more restrictive. As a result, the number of people allowed to
enter Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks daily shrank
overnight from 950 to 439. And from this snowbound town on the park´s
boundary, only 279 snowmobilers would be allowed entry each day, all
guided.

In West Yellowstone, Mont., the most popular entry point for
snowmobiles, rental operators said the ruling left them and their
clients confused.

Because of the mandated 50 percent reduction in snowmobiles allowed to
enter Yellowstone, nearby rental shops were struggling to determine
who among their clients could be served.

"I´ve seen grown men in tears," said David McCray, who owns Two Top
Snowmobile Rental. "I would like to ask the judge what he expects me
to tell people who have booked for Christmas. I´d like for him to tell
me which people go into the park and which will not. That´s my
immediate problem."

McCray said he was swamped with calls from clients around the country
who had planned trips and were frantically trying to find out if they
should still come.

McCray said merchants are concerned for their well-being. Some 92
percent of the town´s $2.5 million budget comes from resort taxes that
visiting snowmobilers pay at hotels and rental outlets.

Costello reported about two feet of snow on the valley floor and up to
five feet in nearby mountains.

Snowmobilers can still ride in Yellowstone, but they must be on guided
trips, and most are booked for the holidays, Costello said.

"Between Christmas and New Year´s, it will be difficult to book a
trip," she said.

But snowmobilers will find 200 miles of groomed trails open for riding
on the nearby Gallatin National Forest. There is also off-trail riding
available in some areas of the forest. Trailheads are located near
West Yellowstone.

Idaho riders will need a $15 registration sticker for their sleds,
which are available in West Yellowstone.

Snowmobilers have another 400 miles of groomed trails in Island Park,
one of the most popular snowmobile riding areas in Idaho. Nearly all
those trails offer off-trail riding, and some trails also link with
trails in the Gallatin National Forest.