In a heartening development for enviros, the National Park Service yesterday recommended banning snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park by late 2003. The proposal, likely to be made into a final policy next month, would end the estimated 75,000 snowmobile trips that visitors take through the park each winter, spewing air pollution and making loud noise that can be heard 10 miles away, disturbing both wildlife and park visitors seeking a natural experience. Snowmobile exhaust is such a problem that carbon-monoxide levels at one park entrance periodically exceed federal air-quality standards, leading some park employees to get carbon-monoxide poisoning. Tourists will still be able to explore the park in winter on snowshoes, cross-country skis, or snowcoaches, which are van-like vehicles that can carry 12 people at a time. The NPS decided earlier this year that it would ban snowmobiles from most other national parks.
