Park access issue lingers: some lawmakers upset over delay in finalizing National Park rules.(PWC)

Powersports Business, April, 2006 by Hemmel, Jeff

A number of members of the U.S. House of Representatives recently criticized the National Park Service for moving at a "glacial pace" in finalizing rules regarding personal watercraft access in a handful of parks.

The criticism on March 15 followed testimony by industry officials that the bad publicity surrounding the bans had cost the United States $2.7 billion and led to the loss of more than 3,000 jobs in the past nine years.

At the center of the controversy is the ongoing ban against PWC that dates back to a 2000 lawsuit against the NPS by Bluewater Network, a San Francisco-based environmental group. Though Bluewater seemed to have the early advantage in its skirmish with the PWC industry, a later court settlement gave 21 high-profile parks a...

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