Yesterday, the National Park Service (NPS) announced a limit on snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park. As expected, NPS will allow 540 snowmobiles per day.

For at least a decade, the limit on snowmobiles in Yellowstone has been the subject of a pitched battle between conservationists and snowmobile advocates. Just before leaving office in Jan. 2001, the Clinton administration banned all snowmobile use in Yellowstone. The Bush administration was able to delay implementation until a federal court invalidated the ban in 2004 in a case brought by the snowmobile industry.

For the past few winters, NPS had a temporary cap in place (720), but has been promising to finalize the limit. Conservationists want an outright ban on snowmobile use in Yellowstone. An Associated Press article (via the LA Times) has the story:

Bill Wade of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees said the decision ignored science and was not good for the park, the park system and the American people.

"It circumvents the conservation emphasis that has guided management of the national parks since the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916," Wade said.

In October, 86 Congressmen (none from the Yellowstone region) wrote to NPS also asking for a ban on snowmobile use.

Interestingly, based on figures from previous winters, the new limit may not have a practical effect on snowmobile activity in the park. According to AP, average daily snowmobile use last winter was about 290.

Reg•Watch is not surprised NPS announced the policy yesterday. Media accounts will now surface on or around Thanksgiving, when almost no one is paying attention. Kudos to the media strategists at NPS.

NPS says it will publish in December a rule on implementing the limit.