Park wars: it's the snowmobilers (and the recreation industry) against the high-country hikers (and the environmentalists) in the battle for the future of America's parkland.

IT'S A HIGH-ENERGY SCENE IN THE INTERIOR DEPARTment's John Muir Room on the second Wednesday in June. Rangers from the National Park Service dispense information while their bosses dispense Bluebonnet ice cream. Guests from the Forest Service exchange gossip with their Interior counterparts, while other visitors pause to examine the displays set up around the room.

Most energetic of all is the event's host Derrick Crandall, the 50-year-old president of the American Recreation Coalition (ARC). The coalition is perhaps Washington's least-known powerhouse. But with cabinet ...