With three previous plans voided by federal judges over the past decade, the National Park Service is beginning its fourth attempt to create a permanent rule guiding winter use in Yellowstone National Park.
“We begin this process with a clear goal: a winter use plan for Yellowstone National Park consistent with the NPS mission, best available sound science, accurate fidelity to the law, and the long-term public interest,” said Jon Jarvis, National Park Service director, in a Jan. 29 statement.
The public scoping period closes March 30. An open house to give information about the process and solicit ideas from the public has been slated in Cody on March 22.
Yellowstone Park spokesman Al Nash said the park expects to consider a wide range of alternatives in drafting a new plan.
There are a wide range of opinions — from plowing the park’s roads to allowing unguided snowmobile access to switching to snowcoach-only transportation.
The hottest legal controversy has been over the use of snowmobiles, with a decade-long legal battle between pro- and anti-snowmobiling groups across the country.
Tourist Charles Scheffold of Orange County, N,Y., took his first snowmobiling trip to the park this past January, spending five days on a photography-oriented tour out of West Yellowstone.
Scheffold said a number of people back home in New York scoffed at the idea of him snowmobiling in Yellowstone.
“Many people I talk to have this idea that there are hoards of extreme snowmobilers speeding through the park at 100 mph, chasing the animals around, and stinking up the place with noisy two-stroke snowmobiles,” Scheffold said in an e-mail. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Snowmobiles are currently required to meet best available technology standards, be led by a commercial guide, stay on groomed trails, and have to follow the same speed limits as summer traffic. On his trip, Scheffold said, the animals appeared unbothered by the passing snowmobilers.
However, environmental groups, such as the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, say snowmobiles have an undue impact on the park’s fragile winter ecosystem, and snowcoaches are a better choice. Mark Pearson, the coalition’s national parks program director, says the coaches provide the greatest level of accessibility.

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