Washington, D.C. -- Senator Mike Enzi is asking National Park officials to put up the best possible defense against a lawsuit which could potentially end winter use of Yellowstone Park as we know it and put "gateway" communities under intense economic pressure.

In an Aug. 6 letter to Director of the National Park Service Robert Stanton, Enzi outlined his concern for communities whose businesses depend on winter tourism in Yellowstone.

Enzi pointed out that closing the Park to winter use would not only harm Wyoming economically, but would put a bad taste in the public's mouth for future environmental protection movements. He said tourism has long been touted as a means for making up lost revenue due to land lockups for other forms of multiple use and if efforts to ban tourist activity succeed it would make people less likely to embrace future environmental protection measures.

Enzi called on Park Service and Department of Interior officials' professionalism in defending the lawsuit. He stressed the importance of winter use not only to the communities surrounding the Parks, such as Cody, Dubois, Jackson and others, but to the visitors themselves.

"Wintertime in the Park is special to a number of Wyomingites and people from all across the country," he said. "It would be a shame for snowmobilers to be welcomed at the Park gates with a 'Closed for the Season' sign."

The suit was filed by the Fund for Animals and other environmental groups in May. It seeks to stop the grooming of trails for snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.