On two different years in the recent past I was able to join my
children's junior high school science class on cross country ski
trips to Yellowstone in January. We always spent one day on the snow-
track tour trip riding in to Old Faithful. We were always surrounded
by loud and fume-spewing snowmobiles. It severely degraded the
experience. I'm sure the snowmobilers were having a thrill but it's
hard to believe they had a close-to-nature experience. I'm not
convinced that a motorized thrill ride is a right due to the Park
visitors. While I support public access to our beautiful natural
places, I feel that access comes with a responsibility to the natural
place, it's native human and non-human inhabitants, and fellow
visitors. Three cheers to Bernie for his testimony in congress about
Yellowstone noise pollution! May a quiet reverence for these places
expand and become more universal.
Kevin
On Sep 28, 2008, at 11:02 AM, Bernie Krause wrote:
> Don't know if anyone caught this given the chaos lately, but:
>
> * "Bush Snowmobile Plan for Yellowstone National Park Struck Down":
> "The Bush administration's authorization of increased snowmobile use
> in Yellowstone National Park violates the fundamental legal
> responsibility of the National Park Service to protect the clean air,
> wildlife, and natural quiet of national parks for the benefit of all
> visitors, a federal court ruled today. The administration authorized
> increased snowmobile use despite scientific conclusions by the
> National Park Service that the decision would multiply noise and
> unhealthy exhaust, which disrupt the experiences of visitors, and
> traffic that harms Yellowstone's wildlife, including bison. Judge
> Emmett Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of
> Columbia today invalidated the Bush decision in a case brought by six
> conservation groups that together represent more than two million
> members." Environment New Service had the story September 15, 2008.
>
> Bernie
>
> Wild Sanctuary
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