Snowmobiles and cars

Gail Norton has a forceful response to the New York Times position on snowmobiles in the Yellowstone Park.

Since you are so enthusiastic about banning the 720 snowmobiles a day allowed under Yellowstone's winter use plan (editorial, Aug. 21), one wonders if you would be even more enthusiastic in banning the thousands of cars, motorcycles, buses and recreational vehicles that are, at this moment, streaming through the park on the very same roads. Unlike snowmobile traffic, those vehicles are involved in collisions that, on average, cause the death of at least one large animal per day.

Thoughts about outlawing family cars from national parks may seem absurd, but the arguments you make against snowmobiles also apply to automobiles.

I'd love to see the Times address this question - which is something I have at times argued for (I currently favor greatly increased entrance fees for autos to subsidize a shuttle bus service, though I am open to other suggestions).

For what its worth, Edward Abbey makes a compelling argument for banning cars from parks in his very readable Desert Solitare.