Clean Snowmobile Facts
- CONCERNS
- National Parks
- Air Quality
- Water Quality
- Personal Exposure
- Other Concerns
- SOLUTIONS
- Engine Technologies
- Two-Stroke Engine Principles
- Two-Stroke Engine
Modifications - Four-Stroke Engines
- Electric Snowmobiles
- Fuels & Lubricants
- Oxygenated Fuels
- Biodegradable Lubes
- Low PM Lubes
- Clean Snowmobile Challenge
- What You Can Do
- REGULATIONS
- MONTANA ISSUES
Concerns - Other Concerns
Overview
The debate about snowmobiles includes more than just health issues related to air quality, water quality, and personal exposure. In some locations, snowmobile noise causes greater social conflict than emissions do. For many people, the sights, sounds, and smells of snowmobiling degrade or disrupt the quiet and solitude that they seek in natural areas.
Noise can be a health concern for employees working around snowmobiles, since it can cause hearing loss and increased blood pressure. Studies have shown hearing loss for persons subjected to 73 decibels for 8 hours per day over 40 years, or for exposures to 85 decibels over a shorter number of years. A February 2000 Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) study in Yellowstone National Park showed that toll booth workers were exposed to average noise levels of 88 decibels over an 8-hour work day while patrol rangers were exposed to a 93 decibel average noise level.
Snowmobiling may also impact wildlife in a number of ways. For example, snowmobiling may displace animals or affect vegetation. If animals are harassed, they may use scarce energy that they need to survive through the winter. In some cases, animals may become habituated to humans or may be harassed by pets. In Yellowstone, groomed snowmobile routes have become travel corridors for bison and other animals, changing their movements, contributing to increased populations, and bringing them into more frequent conflict with landowners adjacent to the park.
Selected Links
Go to the Publications and Links section for a more complete list, including related or overlapping topics.
The National Park Service has surveyed wildlife impacts as part of its Environmental Impact Statement for the Yellowstone area:
National Park Service, October 2000. Winter Use Plans: Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway. (523 pages)
The impacts of snowmobiling on bison in Yellowstone are a special concern. In August 2000 the National Park Service released an Environmental Impact Statement for a bison management plan for the Yellowstone area:
A diverse collection of articles covering snowmobile impacts on mammals, birds, and habitat is:
Olliff, T., K. Legg, and B. Kaeding, editors. 1999. Effects of Winter Recreation on Wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Area: a Literature Review and Assessment. (1.5M pdf file) Report to the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (315 pages)
The National Park Service makes available a searchable reference work on environmental toxicology (including fish, wildlife, invertebrates, and other non-human living resources):
Irwin, R.J., Van Mouwerik, M., Stevens, L., Seese, M.D., and Basham,W. 1998. Environmental Contaminants Encyclopedia.
The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse maintains a list of noise-related snowmobile news stories.
The Society of Automotive Engineers has produced a publication entitled Exterior Sound Level for Snowmobiles - Recommended Practice." SAE J192, March, 1985.
