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Snowmobiling in the Adirondacks: Pollution Rubric 1. What are the pollutants? Emissions: CO and CO2 from dirty, two-stroke engines. In other parks, visitors report "tasting the blue haze" created by snowmobiles. (www.earthisland.org/bw/snofacts.shtml) Fuel/Antifreeze: A standard snowmobile has a leakage ratio of .25 gallons, which means that petroleum products are escaping the confines of gas tanks and oozing into the natural environment. Wintertime is especially hazardous for this type of pollutant since fuel stays in the snowpack and causes a "toxic shock" when it melts in the spring. Noise: Not only is the buzz of snowmobiles injurious to the human ear, it also affects the hearing of wildlife that depend on acute senses for survival. 2. What activities create this pollution? Use of ORV's (Off-Road Vehicles) in general create this pollution, of which snowmobiles are the major contributors during the winter months. 3. Where does this activity take place? Although many national and state parks have banned snowmobile use, Adirondack Park continues to allow snowmobiling on designated trails. 4. What damage is caused? Damage to the ecosystem of the park is the most alarming and pressing issue at hand. Soil Displacement/Compacting: Although one would think that snow protects soil from snowmobile damage, the overcrowding and overuse of trails negates any of its potential preservation value. When compacted, snow looses its insulating characteristics. Snowmelt and thin cover leave the ground vulnerable to a snowmobile's skis and runners. A snowmobile is designed to pass over frozen precipitation, not mud and dirt. Hence, trail bases may become excessively damaged, especially on hills where back runners tend to kick up more material. The weight of a snowmobile also causes soil compaction, which damages the roots and surface vegetation. Compaction also increases the risk of erosion and flooding. Air: ORV's in general were exempt from the original Clean Air Act, and to this day their emissions remain uninforced. This means that CO, CO2 and other noxious gases from their engines are making the air unsafe to breathe. Vegetation: Snowmobiles aversely affect the soil (air, water, ground pollution and compacting/displacement), which reduces a plant's ability to germinate, root, and grow. Plantlife exposed above the snowpack is vulnerable to trampling and uprooting by snowmobiles. Reckless drivers who take off from designated trails, of course, do more damage. The overall result is fewer and less hardy plants, loss of species, and erosion. Wildlife: Snowmobiles, like cars, damage wildlife and its natural habitat by direct mortality, noise pollution, air and water pollution, and stress due to harassment. Human contact of this sort may change the behavior patterns of certain animals and cause further injury to endangered species. Habitat changes may decrease reproductivity and longevity, and certainly lead to a loss of fauna diversification. Humans: Air, surface water and ground water pollution pose various and serious health risks for residents of the area and potentially those living outside the park. Because Adirondack Park is unique in that it is comprised of both public and private land, noise pollution ruins the natural quiet valued by residents. Finally, snowmobiling is a dangerous sport that is generally not monitored by any law enforcement agency. More and more often we hear about drunk driving and recklessness that ends in tragedy. It is one thing for snowmobilers to knowingly accept risk, but quite another to impose that risk on others unwillingly. 5. Where and When does damage occur? The hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails through the Adirondacks. Winter, when ecosystems are in hibernation and are prey to abuse. 6. What strategies are there for controlling the pollutants or the damage they cause? 1. Outlawing snowmobiling in public parks, protected wilderness, and fragile ecosystems 2. Decreasing the number of trails open to snowmobile use 3. Increasing the permit fees that allow snowmobilers to use the park 4. Test and license snowmobilers. 5.. Mandating that manufacturers upgrade new snowmobiles to cleaner, 4-stroke engines. Reduce or get rid of old, dirty snowmobiles. Subsidize R&D. 6. Creating incentives NOT to snowmobile. Promote other winter activities. 7. Educating snowmobilers on the hazards of snowmobiling and provide incentives to buy clean snowmobiles and repair damages to trails. 8. Creating laws aimed at controlling where, when and how snowmobiles should be driven. Enforce speed limits, emissions testing, responsible driving. 7. Who is affected by the damage caused by these pollutants? Virtually everyone, everything. CO2 and hydrocarbons are greenhouse gases, which accumulate and effect the climate globally. Groundwater and air pollution are regional pollutants, travelling many hundreds of miles and infecting surface water and air quality in areas far from the source. Local pollutants do just as much harm: wildlife is damaged, plants are damaged, and future and current users of the park are hurt because of pollution and loss of environmental amenities. Noise and general pollution cause animals and humans to displace themselves or suffer quietly. 8. How large are these effects? There has been limited information on snowmobiling's effect in Adirondack Park itself, although reports from other parks are shocking. Yellowstone's west gate, for example, has the highest CO count in the nation. Snowmobiles emit 25% as many hydrocarbons as all the cars and trucks in the nation (www.sfgate.com). "Toxic shock" is a big problem as well. Accumulated pollutants in the snow are realized all at once during the first 20% of snowmelt (www.earthisland.org/bw/snofacts.shtml). In tests with other ORV's, heavily used trails reported a 70% loss in plantlife and biomass along trails. Snomobiles compact one acre of soil for every 20 miles traveled, as compared to a human's 40 miles traveled. Without the benefit of summer foliage, snowmobiles can be heard from more than a mile away, not taking into count speed or distance traveled. 9. How costly are the control strategies? Anything requiring more bureaucracy, as in licensing, enforcement, and educational classes, costs money. As well, subsidizing manufacturers and offering incentives to snowmobilers will generate steeper costs as well. The most cost effective strategies are increasing the permit fee (which generates revenue) and decreasing the amount of trails open to snowmobiling (which costs virtually nothing but the cost of revising maps). Economically, the last options cost local businesses customers as fewer snowmobilers come through the area. This cost maybe counteracted, however, with an increase in non motorized sport participants who have been turned off by snowmobiling's effects. Mandating manufacturers to produce cleaner vehicles (control and command) will cause an increase in their costs, reflected onto the snowmobiler who will internalize the cost. This is cost effective for the tax payer who will not pay anything. Outlawing snowmobiling is probably not a cost effective strategy. 10. Who pays these costs? Depending on the strategy, taxpayers or snowmobilers 11. What policies can achieve cost effective control? The cheapest policies are increasing the permit fee and decreasing trail acreage, and should be attempted first. Mandating cleaner machines forces manufacturers and snowmobilers to internalize externalities and is also possibly a cost effective control. Incentives to snowmobilers and manufacturers gets at the root of the problem, and if all works well, may cover the cost of trail damage (snowmobile clubs provide labor and materials out of dues). Subsidizing R&D is also a good idea, although it costs more now with benefits seen much later. 12. What policies can achieve cost effectiveness AND equitable balance between control costs and damage? Any sort of tax on the sport, as in an increase in the permit fee, to cover the social marginal cost and marginal damage will work well. The revenue generated can be used to clean up the trails while allowing snowmobilers to pursue their activities if they are willing to pay. Otherwise they will go elsewhere. 13. How costly is the administration and enforcement of these policies? Since the permit fee system is already in place, there would be minimal
cost as far as administration and enforcement. 14. What policies to deal with these pollutants exist now or have been tried? As stated above, there is a seasonal permit fee to snowmobile in Adirondack park, although this fee is minimal. Other parks have banned snowmobiling, which works well for them but causes overcrowding in other parks. Some snowmobile clubs to date have made an effort to repair and clean up heavily damaged areas. Under Forest Service regulation, all heavily damaged trails must be closed immediately pending rejuvenation. This helps to preserve what is left of the natural environment, although it may in fact be too late for some trails. Although legislation has existed since Nixon's time regarding the enforcement of ORV's in fragile ecosystems, there has been little done until very recently about air and water pollution. By September 2000, manufacturers will face new laws which mandate 2-stroke engines to be replaced by cleaner running engines. ORV's were not covered under the EPA's Clean Air Act until now. 15. Are these policies cost effective? Efficient? Equitable? In general, there is a problem with snow mobiling today because the current policies are not cost effective, efficient or equitable. By instituting the above clean air policies, increasing the permit fee and opening and closing trails based on usage, some amount of cost effectiveness and efficiency may be attained. There is still no equity for those who are bothered by noise pollution. The only answer for them is to delegate snowmobilers to far off reaches of the park or outlaw it altogether.
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