Big Sky Cairn

A judge in Washington, DC has overturned a rule that would have allowed limited access by snowmobiles to Yellowstone National Park during the winter months.

Recreation advocates had ceded a lot of ground, agreeing to limit access to commercially-guided ventures, investing in cleaner, quieter machines and capping the number of snowmobiles to 540 per day (by comparison, Yellowstone admits about 39,000 vehicles per day during peak summer months).

This is devastating news for the small towns around the Park (West Yellowstone, Cooke City, Gardiner) whose winter economies are completely dependent on the tourism that Yellowstone snowmobiling generated.

Of course, something similar happened in 2006, but Montana Senator Conrad Burns understood the issue, was the chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and was able to fix this problem.

Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) has amended this year’s Department of the Interior’s Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5386). This amendment would keep Yellowstone National Park open to snowmobiles until 2010. Currently the park is operating under a temporary plan that permits up to 720 snowmobiles to enter the park on a daily basis. The existing plan is set to expire at the end of the 2006-2007 Winter Season. The extension by Senator Burns will allow local businesses and winter travelers to plan beyond the 2007 season. To date, the Appropriations Bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is being placed on the Senate’s Legislative Calendar under General Orders.

But 3,562 votes, Montanans threw Burns out of office and gave Democrats a majority in the U.S. Senate.  It’s beyond unlikely that the new chairwoman, Dianne Feinstein will act to save these towns - she’s bought and paid for by environmental extremists.  No one’s coming to the rescue this time - a direct consequence of that electoral decision.

3,562 votes.  At least that many conservatives bought into the Democrat’s lies and stayed home or voted for Tester.  As far as I’m concerned, the consequences of the Democratic Majority - and the economic turmoil that Montanans are about to weather - rests most heavily on their shoulders.

The question is, are they going to make the same mistake in November by not voting for McCain?  Are Republicans going to make the same mistake on the national stage?

You’ve been writing on the edge of insulting lately - maybe you’re sleep deprived. But you get what you give. There are two sides to most issues, and generally, Conrad Burns didn’t know either of them. Usually he looked at who might vote for him, who contributed to his campaign and rode roughshod over everyone else. The man was a crass insult to us, a running joke in Washington. The most painful slap of all would have been to reelect that bum.

Regarding snowmobiles, they are more than welcome in the national forests around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. Why they think we have to “share” our national park with their foul machines is beyond me - pure selfishness. But you guys look at that as a virtue - no?

“The man was a crass insult to us, a running joke in Washington.”

Hey, Mark Trotsky, that’s our governor you’re talking about!

Checker 11: Aaaahahahahahaaaa!

Wiley:

3562 votes. Wow, Schweitzer tampered with the 2006 election just enough for Tester to win - and Montana lost. This snowmobile issue is just another classic example.

Blame Stan Jones and ~1/3 of the people that voted for him:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/elections/keyraces/15/

As much as I like Stan Jones, he can only serve as a spoiler.

I’m not convinced that Stan Jones voters would have otherwise voted for Burns. My gut tells me they just would have stayed home or left it blank in protest.

[…] Montana Starts Feeling The PainThis is devastating news for the small towns around the Park (West Yellowstone, Cooke City, Gardiner) whose winter economies are completely dependent on the tourism that Yellowstone snowmobiling generated. … […]