Protecting Parks

People like to run their ATVs and snowmobiles in national parks and forests.

They tear stuff up, deplete natural areas, belch out blue smoke and make a terrific racket. After a fun day of destruction and noise, they then go into the nearest town and spend money.

It's that part that endears them to influential people.

Take the village of West Yellowstone, at the entrance to the national park. It's a town of motels, hotels, bars, outfitters and snowmobile rental shops. It is a jumpin' joint in winter, blue smoke, racket and all.

The federal government allows park destruction because money talks— and forests don't make campaign contributions.

As another example of letting Nature be ruined by the blue-smoke fun bunch, the Forest Service now half-heartedly proposes to limit offroad vehicles in national forests, but to show you how un-serious the restrictions are, snowmobiles are exempt. And there's no money to enforce new offroad rules.

That's how we protect our national parks and forests. Politicians and bureaucrats should be ashamed. And if there's any way to do it, they ought to be surrounded by blue smoke and a terrific racket to boot.

Brad Messer, commentary, KTSA.