Snowmobiles produce nearly all the air pollution in
Yellowstone National Park, even though other vehicles outnumber
them 16 to 1, says a new report by the National Park Service’s Air
Resources Division. Air Quality Concerns Related to Snowmobile
Usage found that one winter’s worth of emissions by snowmobiles
amounts to 78 percent of all carbon monoxide and 94 percent of all
hydrocarbons released during an entire year in the park. Snowmobile
groups did not dispute those figures. But they accused the agency
of trying to “fan the flames of controversy and inject emotion
where none is called for.” One Teton County, Wyo., commissioner
demanded the resignation of park officials who released the report.
Critics pounced on a comparison between Yellowstone’s particulate
concentrations and those of a Los Angeles suburb: The Yellowstone
study used a four-hour measurement while the Los Angeles
concentration was measured over 24 hours. A soon-to-be-released
revised report will use a different particulates yardstick: Over a
two-hour period at the park’s west gate, many park employees were
found to be exposed to more fine-particulate matter than a Los
Angeles or Sacramento commuter. The west gate is where snowmobilers
congregate and idle their engines. If anything, counters a
coalition of more than 60 organizations working to ban snowmobiles
from the national parks, the report underestimates park pollution.
The coalition, Bluewater Network, says EPA data show that
snowmobiles emit 3,000 times more hydrocarbons and nearly 600 times
more carbon monoxide than modern cars. Despite the controversy,
Yellowstone planner John Sacklin says the report confirms the
park’s concerns about the health effects of snowmobile emissions on
park visitors and employees, as well as the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Sacklin says the Park Service will issue a revised report
soon.
To obtain a free copy of the 16-page
report, contact Yellowstone National Park at P.O. Box 168,
Yellowstone Park, WY 82190, or call 307/344-2013.
– Karen Mockler
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Dirty air in the deep of winter.
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