Preliminary numbers show rising interest in snowcoach tours of Yellowstone National Park in winter and slightly declining interest in snowmobile tours.

There's a section of Yellowstone National Park not too far south of the park's West Entrance where access is tricky no matter what the season. But in winter, when the snow is deep, rogue snowmobilers find their way into the park to play.

Yellowstone National Park officials met earlier this week with several representatives from Wyoming to discuss the options at their disposal for bombing snow-covered mountain slopes in our nation’s first national park. Why? To keep it clear of avalanche danger for the handful of snowmobiles and snowcoaches that enter the park through Sylvan Pass on the park’s east side each day during the winter season.

For longer than the National Park Service has been in business, capitalists have pulled at national parks, looking for a way to get their financial cut of natural resources. Should we be surprised at this behavior? Of course not. Disappointed? I'd like to think so.

Former National Park Service Director Fran Mainella says her bosses in the Interior Department in effect tied her hands on the question of recreational snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park. And now she says science should have the final say in whether snowmobiling continues to be allowed in the park.

Six conservation groups are condemning the National Park Service's decision regarding snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, saying it goes against the core values of the national park system. To right that wrong, the groups said they would seek judicial relief.

A National Park Service script of "Frequently Asked Questions" on the decision to continue snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park is revealing on several fronts.

A day later than planned, National Park Service officials today signed off on their record of decision to continue snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The ROD was called a "shocking stewardship decision" by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

Despite months and months of work and planning, National Park Service officials have failed to get a Record of Decision on snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks signed off on on schedule. But that doesn't mean the upcoming winter season is in limbo. Indeed, a greater threat at this point is lack of snow.

Perplexing. That's my initial reaction to the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the snowmobile decision out of Yellowstone National Park. In five short paragraphs the EPA officials went from seemingly complimenting the decision to saying park planners failed to fully address their concerns.

As the latest decision on permitting snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park draws to conclusion, the question of the impact that decision will have comes up. To those closely following the issue, the National Park Service's stance could have devastating effects across not just the park system, but over all public lands.

National Park Service Director Mary Bomar has been asked by nearly 100 members of Congress to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park.

The pledge by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar to let science prevail in national park management decisions is nearing its defining test. If science is not supported in Yellowstone, where else in the park system will it have the final say?

Run a breathtaking, and alarming, video of brown bears about to be slaughtered and there's an outpouring of emotion, angst, and vitriol against the National Park Service for allowing such a hunt. Mention that the National Park Service is fully behind snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, where science has demonstrated they're a blight on the landscape, and there's a collective shrug of the shoulders. Has apathy settled in on this issue?

The decision by Yellowstone National Park officials that up to 540 snowmobiles a day should be allowed in the park come winter is supported by the National Park Service's Washington headquarters, which more than likely means another round of court battles is in the offing.

Yellowstone National Park planners seem to have shunted aside science, the public, even their own management guidelines, in their desire to see more snowmobiles in the park by backing a final Environmental Impact Statement on snowmobile use that favors more of the machines in the park than have been in use in recent years. Yet to be seen is whether Park Service Director Mary Bomar will override Yellowstone officials.

What do the National Park Service hierarchy and members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee know about snowmobiles and their impacts that Yellowstone's scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency, and seven former NPS directors don't know?

The EPA in its formal comments to the Yellowstone snomobile DEIS says the parks' preference to allow as many as 720 snowmobiles in Yellowstone on a daily basis in winter "may not ensure adequate resource protection" and would result in much more pollution than the snowcoach-only alternative.

Apparently Mr. Kempthorne won't get involved. You see, it turns out that the Interior secretary has recused himself from taking any action on the snowmobile plan because of his former role as governor of Idaho, which holds a stake, albeit small, in the outcome of this issue, which leaves the door open for Lynn Scarlett to step in.