The science of politics/the politics of science: examining the snowmobile controversy in Yellowstone National Park.

The snowmobile controversy in Yellowstone National Park not only pits snowmobilers against environmentalists, but it also pits the Bush Administration against the Clinton Administration. Caught in the middle are the National Park Service, scores of natural and social scientists, and Yellowstone's permanent residents-the flora and fauna. The controversy's political aspects are the focus of this paper; specifically, the tenuous relationship among research scientists, whose job it is to inform management and policy decisions; politicians, whose job it is to formulate those same decisions in the public arena; and public land management agencies, whose job it is to implement the decisions.