Passionate About Snowmobiles in Yellowstone

What do you think about snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park? This subject seems to be a battleground for those that see parks as places for recreation, and those that see parks as ecological preserves. People are passionate about their positions. When asked to comment about snowmobiling in Yellowstone, more than 33,000 responded. A large majority said there should be no machines at all in the park. Most of the submissions were form letters.

The winter season in Yellowstone opens on Wednesday. Many people may not know that this season there are already restrictions in place. The temporary plan restricts the number of snowmobiles to 720 each day, and those riders have to be accompanied by commercial guides. I must admit, that until I read that, I thought snowmobiles in the parks were able to zoom all around the Elk, jump off banks, and generally cause havoc. That may have been true years ago, but not now. As stated in a Seattle P-I article today:

There's greater emphasis on taking visitors through the park by mass-transit snow coaches, a mode of transportation some conservationists favor over snowmobiles; promotion of cross-country ski areas; and on attracting snowmobilers to trails just outside the park.

The Park Service has said these new rules provide balance between recreation and park protection. What do you think? Ban them all? Compromise? Or, let the snowmobilers use sleeping Bison as ski jumps?