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Apr. 21, 2008 – Snowmobile Digest

Talks Continue Over the Future of Sylvan Pass

The National Park Service and state of Wyoming plan to meet this month to discuss the Sylvan pass, used by snowmobilers to enter the eastern side of Yellowstone National Park, according to the Associated Press.
The federal agency plans to stop maintaining the pass after this winter, which would make snowmobilers and snow coaches dependent on natural conditions to cross the pass. Park officials say they’ll work with the state and local officials until June to find alternatives that would allow continued motorized use of the pass.
Meetings, scheduled for April 24-25 in Billings, Mont., will focus on the cost of keeping the pass open during the past several winters. The meeting on the 24th is open to the public, and the one on the 25th is closed.

Clean Snowmobile Contest Announces Final Results

The Clean Snowmobile Challenge is the Society of Automotive Engineers’ newest collegiate competition, according to a Michigan Tech press release.
The competition was held at Michigan Tech where engineering students from participating colleges competed in three categories: fueled, combined fuel and zero emissions, and zero emissions. They had to take a stock snowmobile and re-enginner it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance.
Three students from Clarkson University won the internal combustion division. All entries in the challenge’s internal combustion division were required to run on biofuel, and most, including Clarkson, chose E85 ethanol.
Event co-organizer Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center, said “They just boosted the pressure on their fuel pump and added a catalytic converter.”
Four schools competed in the zero emissions division, which was won by the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The school’s sled also nabbed the Society of Automotive Engineers Award for Best Design in its class and other awards. psb

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