In the mountains of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, two snowmobiles illustrate how more snowboarders and skiers than ever before are being hauled to the high slopes. Not only are they venturing deeper into the backcountry than ever before but scientists say more human activity can stress wildlife that have limited body fat in winter, disrupt solace and trigger avalanches. Photo courtesy USDA Forest Service
by Phil Knight
Picture this: You’ve broken trail up 1500 vertical feet of deep powder high in the Beartooth Mountains and reached the summit. All the world lies at your feet as the sun sinks into a sea of snowy peaks. You soak in the silence, the splendor, the serenity. You rip the skins off your skis, grin at your partner, and drop in.
Those were the days. In the 1980s, backcountry skiing out of Cooke City, Montana, provided access to endless untracked snow on moderate terrain. The snow falls soft and deep all winter in Cooke, located just beyond the northeastern gate of Yellowstone National Park. I would go with friends every winter for fresh tracks and quiet mountain adventures.
Equipped with leather telemark boots and 215 cm skinny skis we explored the ski potential of Miller Mountain, Mount Henderson, Crown Butte, Fisher Mountain, Mount Abundance and Scotch Bonnet Peak. We earned out turns with sweat and muscle power, and nearly every run was untracked and deep. The possibilities for more runs were endless.
Granted, it was thanks to snowmobilers we had a packed road to ski in on. Snowmobilers rode around the lower basins and over Lulu and Daisy passes, leaving the snowy chutes to us. Not a big deal.
Fast forward: Good luck finding any untracked snow north of Cooke now. Cooke City has become a Mecca for snowmobilers. Extreme riders on high-powered “sleds” (snowmobiles) race up every slope in a frenzied dangerous activity called “high-marking.”
High-marking by itself used to be considered extreme; it is no longer enough; now it’s massive jumps and flips, all requiring tons of horsepower and noise. The shriek and stink of two-stroke engines permeates the once-remote mountain basins. To escape the racket and find any untracked snow to ski you would need to trek about 9 miles into the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness. Here machines are prohibited (though trespass into the Wilderness by snowmobilers is a common occurrence in this remote terrain).
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Now imagine you are a wild animal – let’s say a wolverine. Your kind has been nearly exterminated in the lower 48; just a couple hundred hang on in mostly high remote mountains where there is still plenty of spring snow to raise your kits in deep dens. You need to avoid people and their howling machines because you are wild, and you know people mean trouble. They will trap you, shoot at you, try to run you down and inadvertently scare you out of the places where you want to be. Many will leave you alone but some will not.
Humans idolize you as a super-animal, all while invading your last wild habitat and failing to protect you.
Every year it gets harder for you to find these last remote places. You need to travel to find a mate, to find food, to find animal carcasses you can eat to survive. But the humans are everywhere. You are mostly relegated to certain areas where the humans, for some reason, come in lower numbers and travel slowly, without mechanized assistance. If you are a wolverine, the wild world is shrinking. Fast.
A mother wolverine and her kit play at the edge of a subalpine forest in the Pacific Northwest. Wolverines den, hunt and scavenge for carcasses in the snowpack on the sides of mountains. Perhaps 300 wolverines, or less, are left in all of the Lower 48. Climate change represents a major threat to habitat, but so, too, researchers say, is disturbance by recreationists in mountain environment. People displace wolverines from habitat they need to survive. Photo courtesy NPS/Cascades Carnivore Project
Everywhere we go, we have an impact on wildlife. Pedestrians, recreationists on two wheels and people on horseback can cause wild animals to flee or avoid travel routes. Any kind of human presence is a problem for wary animals like lynx or wolves that have learned through hard experience that people bring guns, attitudes and often, indifference. Thus the habitat becomes less valuable, harder to use as a non-human.
Leslie M. Naylor and Michael Wisdom published a peer-reviewed paper in 2009 showing that elk feeding and resting behavior was impacted by all types of human use, but motor vehicles and mountain bikes had the most impact, hikers the next most, and horseback riders had the least. Elk are well known to avoid roads, as are grizzly bears, even when roads are closed. Read this essay by biologist April Craighead published in Mountain Journal.
But mechanized recreation – anything involving machines with wheels and or motors – has an even heavier impact on the land and on the wildlife. Dubbed Thrillcraft in a book by that name by author George Wuerthner (see his book on the subject) these are motor vehicles designed primarily for recreational use. People on machines can use their mechanical advantage to cover a lot of ground, go faster, further and longer. People on machines may have guns or traps or other means to kill animals, such as the vehicle itself.
Each year, the machines keep getting more powerful and more nimble. Think powerful, high clearance four- person UTVs –“side by sides“—that can drive just about anywhere; supercharged snow-bikes capable of quickly reaching the highest snow covered ridges; motorized mountain bikes capable of 60 miles without a charge; and souped-up “personal watercraft” blasting across lakes and bays at 40 miles per hour. The sky is not off limits either—many of our national parks are already besieged with scenic air tours via helicopter.
Heli-skiing is expanding and is already spread all over western Canada and parts of Alaska. Most forms of recreation are, leaving many backcountry spots previously sparsely traveled now being traversed by proliferating numbers of people.
With everyone going stir crazy in this time of the pandemic, sales of outdoor gear, from Nordic skis to full-size RVs, from mountain bikes to stand-up paddleboards, has skyrocketed and many manufacturers can’t keep up. Try buying a mountain bike or a snowmobile.
Any limited resource, like untracked snow, peace and quiet, backcountry or front country campsites, or trailhead parking spots, is maxed out or unavailable. The pandemic has ramped up pressure on public lands like never before, with Covid refugees crowding trails, parks, lakes, rivers, campgrounds, and lodges. In Hyalite Canyon, near Bozeman, a popular national forest destination for winter sports, car traffic in January 2021 was 67 percent higher than in 2020.
Indoor and organized sports are unavailable or uninviting, so people are fleeing to the outdoors. Snowmobiles tear everywhere in the winter forests and mountains. Motorcycles roar up the single-track trails, kicking up rocks. Four wheelers grind up what were once narrow trails. Side by sides loaded with helmeted thrill seekers run in mobs through the desert, crushing smaller wildlife that can’t get out of the way. There are more kinds of machines out there than ever. It’s harder and harder for someone seeking a quiet, non-mechanized recreation experience to find it.
The US Forest Service classifies new motorized toys as “emerging recreational technologies.” Yet the federal government has no coordinated policy for determining if a new variety of equipment will be allowed on public lands. The invasion isn't coming just from motor hounds. See the videos below. Imagine our rivers being inundated by muscle-powered "water bicycles," and electric snowboards enabling recreationists to peel up the slopes, and skiers and boarders using "electric jets" to avoid having to break a sweat.
Far off in the future, you say. Not really, they're already here and technological innovation may someday make them available in mass.
If you want another shocking example, see these four-wheel, fun-hog "vehicles" that I could easily see invading trails in the Northern Rockies. Despite all the different kinds of machines out there, with new ones being invented all the time, the only type of new machine they have an official policy for is electric bicycles.
The following is a statement issued recently by the Forest Service on e-bikes: “Emerging technologies such as e-bikes are changing the way people enjoy their visits to national forests and grasslands. Today, more than 60,000 miles of trails and roads on national forests and grasslands are currently open to e-bike use. As use trends change with time and new technologies, the way we manage lands to ensure their long-term health and resilience must change as well. This is why we are closely examining our policy to identify ways to expand access [author's emphasis added] for Americans to enjoy these recreation opportunities on our forests and grasslands in ways that meet user needs while continuing to protect forest resources.”
The border of Yellowstone is marked with a red flag. The roadless Gallatin Mountains stretch from there all the way to Bozeman's back doorstep and provide vital habitat for a rare array of wildlife.
That’s right, those in charge of the Forest Service want to expand access for motorized machines on our public lands. The policy does nothing to address the growing impact sof these expensive toys on wildlife, serenity or quality of experience in nature, nor the problem of e-bikes appearing on non-motorized trails. It does not call on the industry to help police the use of the machines. It does not promise more monitoring of e-bikes nor a blanket policy for where they can or cannot be used.
There is a burgeoning variety of e-bikes available, including powerful mountain bikes that are basically electric motorcycles. They come with names like Rambo and The Weapon. In some ways these are worse than regular dirt bikes because you can’t hear them coming. They move stealthily and can go fast.
Moving quietly and quickly can lead to unfortunate consequences. Mountain bikers in Montana have been mauled and killed by grizzly bears they surprised or actually collided with.
While these machines – electric bicycles – are legitimately excellent for use in towns and cities, they do not belong on backcountry trails unless the trails are specifically open to motor vehicles. But the Forest Service has no system for checking or monitoring whether a bike is motorized or not.
Motors can be disguised inside the frame. This is unfair to legitimate users of the trails.
Nor is it easy to enforce regulations that do exist. Though use is expanding, Forest Service budgets have been shrinking, and law enforcement rangers are beyond maxed out in their duties. Patrolling remote Wilderness boundaries or checking for motors on bikes is not a big priority. And a general distrust of federal authorities among some segments of the public fosters more rule-breaking.
In the 1990s I helped to document significant trespass into Wilderness areas by snowmobilers in the northern Rocky Mountains. I can only surmise this trespass has increased.
More recently, we’ve seen the emergence of snow bikes, aka “timber sleds.” Take a powerful 225 cc + dirt bike, strip off the wheels, put a large track system on the back, and a wide ski on the front. Turn this beast loose in the mountains with a rider amped on Red Bull.
To me this machine typifies the rise of machines and the ongoing invasion of the remotest backcountry. Mark Hoffman of Crazy Mountain Extreme noted, in the December 12, 2019 edition of The Missoulian, that he had seen twenty per cent of the Crazy Mountains on his snowmobile. Now he plans to see the other eighty per cent on his timber sled (fyi: large parts of the Crazy Mountains are legally closed to motorized recreation).
Snowmobiles, too, keep getting lighter, faster, and more powerful.
These are not the put-put skidoos of my childhood. Here’s a quote from a Ski-Doo add: “Ski-Doo’s 2020 Summit SP makes it possible for a rider to ride longer, go further and push harder. It’s ultra-responsive to rider input for effortless handling, and packs instant power delivery for conquering intimidating mountain terrain.”
Some of these machines are specifically designed for the crazed and dangerous activities of high-marking and jumping and flipping.
There’s also a wide variety of up and coming motorized toys, some of which will catch on while others won’t. Electric surfboards, drones, helicopters, jetboards, jetpacks, jetsuits, electric wingsuits, passenger drones that fly themselves and carry people, motorized exoskeletons, motorized scooters, mech suits, motorized skateboards, Oneboards, even a flying motorcycle.
Consider, too, “side by sides.” This sounds so pleasant – going motoring while you have fun, side by side. But these things are the assault weapons of motorized sports.
For about twenty grand you can get what is basically an extremely powerful and nimble mini-jeep that can go nearly anywhere on or off road. Desert routes, once the province of slow-moving jeeps, are now mobbed with these beasts. You can also retrofit them with tracks to run on snow. Here is the Yamaha Wolverine.
Yep, it’s named for one of the animals it is displacing. You can rent a tracked one for $375 per day!
It’s not just peace-loving, stressed-out humans who are being displaced by machines. Wildlife such as elk, moose, grizzly bears, wolverines, lynx, mountain goats and bighorn sheep all avoid noise and commotion caused by loud, fast-moving machinery. They are forced to expend hard-won calories fleeing from mechanized humans.
It’s not just peace-loving, stressed-out humans who are being displaced by machines. Wildlife such as elk, moose, grizzly bears, wolverines, lynx, mountain goats and bighorn sheep all avoid noise and commotion caused by loud, fast-moving machinery. They are forced to expend hard-won calories fleeing from mechanized humans.
Most of their former habitat is already been taken over by humans, with cities, roads, highways, subdivisions, malls, industrial parks, etc. etc. Some, like black bears, coyotes, raccoons, and deer are adapting by becoming urban, nocturnal animals that scavenge off humans or eat the animals that eat human food like gardens and landscaping. Others have a much harder time adapting.
I’ve personally spoken with snowmobilers who boasted about running down coyotes with their machines and beating them with clubs. It was a sport for these guys. It also got them fired from their snowmobile instructor positions at the guest ranch where I worked. Mountain Journal has reported on this.
I admit I am an advocate for the best kinds of protection we can still bestow on rare still-wild places to perpetuate wildlife. Wild country is rapidly shrinking, leaving wildlife that roams across public and private lands in Greater Yellowstone fewer secure places to live their lives. In my humble opinion, the only sure cure for this endless assault on wildlife and wild country: Shut out the machines from overtaking the rest.
The best way to do that is with designated Wilderness. In Wilderness, machines are illegal. No motors of any kind are allowed. No helicopters may land. No bicycles at all are allowed. Nothing with wheels can travel there.
But humans and their animals can go there anytime, as long as they travel under their own power.
Other designations that close areas to motorized machines are helpful. State lands in Montana do not allow motorized recreation.
The Forest Service has a nationwide Off-Road Vehicle Rule that says motor vehicles can only go on routes that are designated open.
The Forest Service and BLM can and have closed many routes to motor vehicles and or bicycles. The Forest Service can also declare an area Recommended Wilderness which means they will manage it similar to designated Wilderness.
Many national parks restrict use of machines.
In Yellowstone, for instance, most trails are closed to bicycles, no Off-Road Vehicles are allowed, snowmobiles must stay on park roads and flying drones is illegal. Nor does Yellowstone offer scenic helicopter or plane rides. Motor boats are restricted to a few lakes and no jet skis are allowed. Backcountry travel is primarily on foot or by horseback or with pack llamas.
I am writing this essay to pique your interest in wildlife conservation because we our own opportunity to leave behind protected lands for future generations.
A group I helped found, the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance, has a solid proposal for over one million acres of new Wilderness on the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana. This forest has some of the finest, most remote habitat for wildlife in the Rocky Mountains, basically extending from the wildlife-zone of Yellowstone Park to the north, and, notably, with hunting allowed. Please take a look at the proposal. Together, let's discuss how we can give our wildlands and wild animals a chance.
EDITOR'S NOTE: By signing up for Mountain Journal's free newsletter, you'll never miss a story. Simply click here and you can get our dispatch every week. MoJo welcomes comments in response to all of the stories we publish, including rebuttals from those who disagree. If you disagree with Phil Knight's concerns about the growing impacts of outdoor recreation on public lands and wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, tell us why. MoJo will consider publishing your views, and post them beneath this op-ed, so long as they are based on facts.
About Phil Knight
Phil Knight, who lives in Bozeman, Montana, has been a conservationist for many decades. Besides being a leader in promoting protection of wilderness and old-growth forests in the U.S. and abroad, he is an avid outdoor recreationist, author of the bookInto Deepest Yellowstone, and leader of popular nature tours.
