Over the course of the last 30 years, snowmobiles have become a popular sight–and sound–in Yellowstone National Park, perhaps the last place one would expect to see crowds like the one on the picture below.
![Snowmobile traffic in Yellowstone Traffic](https://sites.stedwards.edu/comm2399-kschenc/files/2012/10/Yellowstone_snowmobile-25tra7y-300x206.jpeg)
Wilderness or highway? Photo by Craig Moore / Associated Press
The legal and political battle surrounding the issue of banning snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park is a prime example of the challenges government agencies face when managing land for multiple use. On the one hand, snowmobiling is the foundation of the local economy in West Yellowstone, Montana, a small town of about 1000 people and a gateway to Yellowstone. There are multiple companies that rent out snowmobiles, give snowmobile tours, and service snowmobiles. However, supporters of the ban cite air and noise pollution as well as wildlife disturbance as reasons for regulating snowmobile use in the park.
Allowing hundreds of snowmobiles to drive freely through a national gem is contradictory to the National Park Service’s mission to preserve land for future generations. However, banning snowmobiles all together is inconsistent with the idea of managing for different users and would hurt the local economy.
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