Judge Brimmer Hears Snowmobile Case

Cheyenne, Wy – Attorneys for the states of Montana and
Wyoming today (Thursday) asked a judge to strike down a Clinton-era rule banning snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
The lawyers said that doing so would provide certainty for businesses that rely on winter use of the parks.
They also want to prevent a federal judge in Washington, D-C,
from resurrecting the snowmobile ban a second time.
The prohibition was eventually set aside and new rules were
drafted allowing snowmobiling to continue, but last December, U-S
District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington overturned the
regulations and reimposed the Clinton phaseout.
THAT ruling was then overturned two months later by Wyoming
federal Judge Clarence Brimmer.
The Park Service is now planning new snowmobiling regulations to
cover the next three winters, and an attorney for the federal
government asked that the rule-making process continue.
At the conclusion of today's hearing, Brimmer said he would
issue a ruling later whether to rescind the 2001 snowmobile
phaseout rule, which was approved in the waning days of the Clinton
administration.