Originally published February 16, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified February 16, 2007 at 1:05 AM
Judge slaps snowmobile ban on area in Idaho
Coeur d'ALENE, Idaho — Snowmobiles are again off-limits in the Trapper Burn area in northern Idaho out of concern the machines are...
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Snowmobiles are again off-limits in the Trapper Burn area in northern Idaho out of concern the machines are harming the lower 48's last herd of caribou.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley in Spokane closed the area to snowmobiles following a three-day hearing. The exact boundaries of the closure were still being worked out.
About 40 caribou are thought to live in the area and across the border in Canada.
Snowmobilers vowed to fight the ruling that closes an area favored by riders for its expanse of treeless powder snow.
Whaley has been listening to arguments about the area from snowmobilers and conservation groups for several years.
He banned grooming on trails in the area last season, which area businesses said cost them about $1 million. Last September, Whaley banned the machines from about 300,000 acres of federally designated caribou-recovery area around Idaho's Priest Lake.
However, just before snowmobiling season started, he reopened the area.
That caused environmental groups to ask for the latest hearing, in which they argued that protecting the migration corridors for caribou, including the Trapper Burn, increased the chances of the herds interbreeding and surviving.
Snowmobile groups say their machines cause less harm to the caribou than logging and predators.
UPDATE - 09:46 AM
Exxon Mobil wins ruling in Alaska oil spill case
NEW - 7:51 AM
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview mill spills bleach into Columbia River
NEW - 8:00 AM
More extensive TSA searches in Sea-Tac Airport rattle some travelers
![]()

Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
491 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
375 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
273 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
267 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
245 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
140 - Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'
108 - Rough road again
102 - USA Today further spells out how Mariners, handful of clubs next in line for huge cash windfall
74
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- State's share of mortgage settlement: $648 million
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- Bellevue College adds a third bachelor's degree program
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
