Main Street, Wyoming; 804; Snowmachines: Clean? Or Mean?

This is general they're not here for the Tetons the Teton Village about to see the beginning of the 2002 snowmobile challenge. There are 17 teams competing. They're revving their lives right now to study when they're going. Thank you. Is it a race is it an engineering or is it a contest over snowmobiles in Yellowstone. People are going to the park now don't fear the splash of a geyser nearly

as much as they hear the buzz whine and roar of snowmobiles. There's an element of us that for lack of a better word to start strong of being able to journey through along a trail. Through in that metal corridor that you just can't get out of cross-country skiing but we're getting more and more people will be here more and more people wanting to regulate tobacco free. So we have more and more user group God's work with. Something needed to be done to improve Stanwood illnesses. And out of that came this idea for the clean sound of talent and. We work together in a tremendous. Partnership ever says. The gasoline engine. For most of the 20th century. It's driven the American economy.

It's part of the culture. Motorcycles TV's power boats and jet skis in the winter. Snowmobiles. But when you put a snowmobile in the wilds in Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Park it seems from a certain viewpoint out of place. Too noisy. Too dirty. So there's a battle going on over whether or not to phase out snowmobiles in parts of the self. Jackson was an environmental engineer. It was not a political issue so much as a challenging engineering problem. I served on the Teton County air quality board. Along with many members of our community including. Bill Battleford who was the chairman of the county commission at the time. And throughout our service on this board. Bill and I pretty much disagreed about every issue that came up. And the board. Found that if they could. Come up with an answer that made both of us upset.

That they had reached a good solution. So after one meeting Bill and I were talking about snowmobile emissions. And. We found ourselves agreeing. And it was the first time that it ever happened that something needed to be done to Chris they were feeling this is. What we're getting conflict with user groups as more and more people enjoy the backyard tree as our population grows as it's easier to travel. And somebody has to do something to try to resolve these these these conflicts because. Neither side sees war due to give or take anything and it seems rather ludicrous to be that. People can't sort of talk while these problems. So I LOVE STORY shoes or decide to try to do something about it. The Society of Automotive Engineers clean snowmobile challenge is in its third year in Jackson. The object is to take on the environmental problems posed by these

machines and noise their exhaust emissions and put college engineering students to work finding a solution. In 2002 17 teams competed including the University of Wyoming. What we'll see in Jackson is a lot of hybrid type snowmobiles with four cycle engines and stuff in that but there are extremely complex. One thing about the snowmobile industry is that they've really tried to keep things simple. Because when you're out riding these things you don't want to have any mechanical failures that you can't fix in the field. So they try to keep the electronics and stuff really down on these as far as the engine controls up to this point. Eventually they're going to have to go to electronic engine controls probably to keep the emissions down. But at this time the consumer has a really want to embrace that type of technology. So what we try to do is stay within those guidelines and keep it really similar to an existing snowmobile making. Have a

really close. Or really close. The one thing I like about this project is that it affects us in Wyoming because Wyoming is a real snowmobiling type of state into. It's a really good thing to do to try and clean up two cycle engines and and this kind of feel because they get a real bad rap for being dirty and whatnot and being noisy and so by doing this we can get a better name for snowmobiles. And plus it's just a really fun thing to do. Fits what I like to do with myself just to be hands on and what not. The competition may take place out in the snow but the challenge actually occurs in the college classrooms and labs where they learn about things like apply direct injection and three way catalyst systems and where they do the assembling the machining the fine tuning in the testing with sophisticated and exacting machines. This is a super flow water break style dye know what it does it

uses water pressure this is basically a giant water pump and by changing the valve in the water pump it can load or unload the engine and using stress sensors and flow sensors that will determine through a computer just what what the output of the engine is. The first the competition you know we were all pretty close as far as money different than we get further into it there started to be a little bit of competition. I wish it was a race for well at times in the race. Like when the college clean machines doing in durance run. Other times it's scientific testing. There are a variety of events that the teams on an all points associated with them. The first event of the emissions testing. And in order to receive any receive any points in emissions testing. 50 percent

reduction in both hydrocarbons. And carbon monoxide. And then they get additional points. For. How much better than those thresholds they reach. And so we actually had a team this year. That improve hydro carbon emissions by 89 percent. And carbon monoxide by 99 percent. That's actually the flight I'm sitting on right here from Colorado State University which is a two stroke engine I might add. Direct injection. Technology. Up until the day she was doing really well first missions and or presentation but didn't finish this event so to be in four events. We've done the mission testing the presentation and today we did the hundred mile and we fell short in our carbon monoxide reduction and received any points but we did well in our old presentations

on the cost assessment and then today we were among. The few hundred hundred miles so we were pretty good. And event. After mission testing. And test. Proved a hundred miles has a range of 100 miles. If they prove that. They're not guaranteed any points because they also have to score in fuel economy and so they can receive points based on how much money they have relative to the controls in the competition. From there we go. National Park. Where we do an acceleration and test simultaneously. To get any points of. Either acceleration or noise. They have to have. That was new this year. And it was. Really tough at the seams to do but we did have some teams that were successful at that. Passing acceleration involves going from a standing stop. To 50 feet. In less than 10 and a half seconds. And to

pass the sound test you have to have a sound level less than 74 DVA on they are. On the sound. Equipment so. It's a very tough thing to do. Just for comparison the control so mobility 80 decibels. So that's really tough. After acceleration noice testing we take the snowmobiles to the Jackson Hole melt resort. To our handling of band and professional riders actually ride the same wheels on a mini still phosphors and evaluate the ride and feel of the snowmobile. The traditional snowmobile operates with a two stroke engine which is. That's a really good power to weight ratio but it's inherently dirty. And the reason for that is that the intake. And their exhaust are open simultaneously and that allows some of the unburned fuel to escape out the exhaust without ever going through the combustion process. Some teams have use for stroke engines as a solution in this competition because that. Is a problem that doesn't happen with a four stroke engine and they've added catalysts and they've been relatively

successful at emissions reduction. Some teams have chosen to use two stroke engines and focus on exhaust after treatment and engine tuning to solve the problem. This year we have solutions again and we're calling it the battle of the two strokes and four strokes and it really is a battle because this year we have a new kind of two stroke engine developed by the Colorado State University and it's a direct injection. And that engine is right here in front of me. And it essentially what they do. Instead of injecting the fuel air mixture into the crankcase like a standard just a fresh air charge put it into the combustion chamber and then they inject the fuel after the exhaust port is closed. And so what they had to do was cast their own petard here. And then they use an off the shelf fuel rail and so they actually aren't just injecting the fuel directly into each combustion changer. This solution reduce carbon monoxide emissions over 99 percent and it reduces the number of

hydrocarbons. Eighty nine percent. That's astounding because they've maintained all of the performance and weight characteristics of a two stroke engine but have reduced the emissions they actually beat all of the four stroke engines in the emissions competition. This is serious stuff so serious that competing teams have been contacted by third world countries where pollution from two stroke engines is a major problem. This particular university has been contacted by agencies from India to West Africa. To see how their technology can be used to help reduce pollution from two strokes in several countries. If you travel to Kathmandu Bangkok jelling any major city in the Far East or in the Third World. The two stroke engine is the engine of choice. By the population and the pollution in the cities is. Just devastating and has a real impact on the health of a large number of people and I'm just so excited to know that this competition which focuses on snowmobiles is going to have an impact globally. It's really amazing.

But snowmobiling recreation it's got to be fun. The competition. At the smoking. Room. Thanks. To some this is an ugly display of brute gasoline power.

But to others it's a thing of beauty. We didn't pass a mission so we lost a big point there so we're pretty much out of the running for the best.

But there's a lot of bragging rights me around there's a lot of things to be learned and there's there are still a lot of points to be gotten and prize money to be taken home for next year. Well what we strategically tried to do was to maintain the. Performance levels that we're seeing with existing equipment. And of course we see that as being part of this spirit of this competition and the fact that this is what we have done to modify that machine is something that's economically and technologically feasible for a manufacturer to do. And still provide an end product to the consumer that is really right in line with what they are used to riding in and purchasing. So that was one of our objectives was to try to maintain the simplistic nature of the production snowmobile while increasing or decreasing the emissions. And the noise issues that are so prevalent within the industry right now. They're very enterprising. You have a Vegas credibly surprise retreat is that this is a

competition. Everybody helps everybody. If somebody is good at welding three or four hours for everybody else say with carp collaboration the other day there was a gentleman that is an acoustical esque expert garbage here that was giving lessons to the US on how to cut. Their sound for the next day's competition. It's funded yourself on the big hill to show your site has the power. The issue of snowmobile noise and pollution really rubs up when you start looking at national parks like Grand Teton or Yellowstone. Oil industry groups shy away from it then and conservation groups dig in their heels. During the Clinton Administration the National Park Service studied the issue of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and decided to phase them out by 2004. That infuriated the snowmobile and tourism industries and the snowmobilers who enjoyed the park.

We were sued shortly after that by the international snowmobile Manufacturers Association by the state of Wyoming and other groups and individuals who disagreed with that with that decision. Settlement negotiations occurred after that lawsuit was filed and an agreement was reached in late June of 2001 to to re-evaluate that question. When the initial rule came out that snowmobiles would be banned they were banned for any particular reason they were just banned. And our contention was we can we can meet whatever standards there are quality. Noise for. Staying on the trails for supervision all those can be met. Let's come up with a standards list demonstrate we can meet him and each year the to snowmobile challenge has been year. There been quantum leaps forward on how well this can you know if you have to do it is achievable. No grandstanding here for the people who would go out and. Do all the extreme things on either side. Just let them go out. Grant you're right they're not going to solve any problems will solve the problems here.

What what's the matter with a less polluting less noisy machine if the snowmobile industry can can make that why not in Yellowstone allow that first of all I think it's terribly important that we get more responsible machines because they're going to be in Wisconsin and Vermont and Michigan and Wyoming and to the extent that they can create less pollution less noise. That's a good thing. Is it a solution for Yellowstone. Now it's not for several reasons Number one the wildlife in Yellowstone the wildlife that are spread out over two million acres in the summer are concentrated in low lying river valleys in the wintertime right where the roads are and so you've got 75000 machines forging through places where the wildlife are are being stressed at a time of year and a little bit more stress can spell the difference for whether an elk or a bison or another animal. Makes it or not. So wildlife is it is a big issue. Secondly. We

don't believe that the end history is genuinely wanting to produce a truly cleaner and quieter snowmobile. You know we we do believe that environmental friendly a mite environmentally friendly is is something that we need to be supporting as a manufacturer. You know we have pushed for a cleaner quieter environment. But the the struggle seems to be a common set of rules. And then what we have pushed for is is to support a unified set of standards for the last several years we've been doing polls and asking consumers you know what what would you pay for a cleaner quieter snowmobile and what would you give up when meeting you're going to the slots can be a lot heavier. It's going to have a little different power delivery. The surveys that we've we've had up to this year has said geez I don't really want to pay more money for less performance. If the bad effects are still the seeds will do something. There will be nothing left.

They will have nobody to sell to for. The first question to ask though about cleaner and quieter machines how cleaner and how quieter a machine that's only slightly cleaner and slightly quieter may not make much of a difference. A new snowmobile that's considerably cleaner and considerably quieter may help address the sound in the emission questions. However clean and quiet snowmobiles don't don't address wildlife concerns don't necessarily address safety issues don't necessarily address all other visitor experience kinds of questions. What happens in Yellowstone in all likelihood will drive what happens in other national parks within the units will in all likelihood drive what happens on other public lands. Because if you can provide a cleaner quieter snowmobile in Yellowstone to use it there you're probably going to use it on

Forest Service lands and if you use enough Forest Service lands you're providing a better all around experience for those people there plus you're helping the environment. Look. There are a lot of snow. Yes it's about speed and power and love of the game too. They don't really care about cleaner and quieter. And they don't care to break bread with the people who find their sport noisy dirty and downright ugly. I think it has sounded very reasonable to the public over the last couple of years when the industry has said we just want a chance to make a better machine. Let me give your response to that number one we think the machines should be better. To the extent that they're going to be used in and Wyoming and Vermont and Wisconsin and people are and hailing more pollution than they need to and hearing more of this racket than they need to yes the machine should be better. It is not a solution for Yellowstone National Park Service ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone is on hold for now.

But the possibility of it seemed to drive some conservation groups away from their earlier support of the clean snowmobile challenge. Only the Jackson Hole conservation alliance remains on the advisory board. We remain with the program because we feel we still feel that snowmobiles need to be cleaned up and it's not just a Yellowstone situation snowmobiles exist from Maine to Washington State in Alaska and beyond. And if you're really concerned about the environment you don't you know already under focus your concern on one location like Yellowstone Park. So we really want to see the industry cleaned up. We want to see the machines cleaned up they're not going to be banned from everywhere they exist. But we feel we think that they can be made much more compatible with the environment and with today's society. There's a lot of people out there that. Are both sides of the issues that are at the point of don't confuse that with the facts of already redeployed. It started out as a

sparrow and Sabu issue. Here but it's developed into a slight issue. They just don't like the sight of stove shoots. I think the Yellowstone snowmobile story is different from snowmobile story in general. It's become more complex because it is one a national park two it does influence and has a potential for influencing an environment that should be held sacrosanct. It's not just snowmobiles on our national forests or even on private land. I don't know where we're going to go with this but clearly right now the industry is driving government decisions or appears to be driving government decisions I find that very unsettling because the people have spoken through the NEPA process through a very public process through a well-conducted public process and they have clearly said that they want snowmobiles out of the park. But it's an industry who's saying no and that is no longer the kind of

situation that I'm comfortable with. I think people should have some say good science should have some say and it's being ignored. We're trying ot meet us halfway. Nobody has the highball gravitas argue it. Everybody tries to take it but nobody actually has it. Those differences go deeper than just an engineering problem especially when it involves a national park like Grand Teton or Yellowstone. But let's set that aside for a moment and think about the fact that a few people from Jackson Wyoming decided to try to find a middle ground and in doing so it gave some young minds in solving an engineering problem. And they've taken strides in that direction. Which may mean that someday we'll be able to ride a machine into the great outdoors without damaging the environment or the wildlife or our eardrums.