Protect Yellowstone's Winter Wonderland

Yellowstone National Park is a symbol of America that has enthralled visitors for generations. Geysers, wildlife and other wonders have provided us with a place to relax and experience this national treasure, but every winter the world of Yellowstone is transformed from breathtaking to breath threatening, exposing wildlife, park staff, and visitors to dangerous air pollution. Yellowstone's winter beauty has become jeopardized by the intrusion of tens of thousands of snowmobiles. This winter, park rangers wore respirators to protect themselves from dangerously high levels of snowmobile exhaust; wildlife faced constant stress from snowmobile traffic; and park visitors often could not escape the whine of these machines.

For years, we have been fighting to ban snowmobiles in Yellowstone. Last year we thought we had won the battle when the National Park Service announced its decision to initiate the ban. But the $7-billion-a-year snowmobile industry sued the Park Service, and in July, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, yielding to industry demands, agreed to "review the finding" that led to the ban.

The Park Service will accept public comments until May 29. Tell them to stop the pollution, noise and disruption snowmobiles cause in this natural treasure. Click on the link below to send your comments. http://www.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=159&st=tact=&rf=a00159a

Please ask the agency to uphold its original decision to adopt a Winter Use Plan that would gradually phase out snowmobiles from the park in favor of a mass transit system based on cleaner, quieter, park-friendly, people-friendly snowcoaches.

Thank you for helping us restore Yellowstone's winter magic. Your voice is an important part of our efforts to protect the environment.