In 2001, the National Park Service adopted a winter use rule which phased out snowmobile usage in Yellowstone National Park. While some enjoyed using snowmobiles to see Yellowstone’s sights, in practice they were environmentally damaging and threatened the park’s wildlife and natural beauty. The Bush Administration repealed this rule and allowed unrestricted snowmobile use to continue.

Since then I have introduced legislation and have led the fight in Congress to enact protections that would protect Yellowstone for future generations. Although my legislation was never enacted, there’s good news: recently a compromise was announced that would regulate the number of daily snowmobile trips in the park in order to reduce air and noise pollution.  This is a thoughtful middle ground that has meet with support from both conservation organizations and snowmobile advocacy groups.

Yellowstone is America’s first national park, and it is a national treasure in the truest sense of the phrase – a treasure that belongs to all of us, including New Jerseyans, today and for generations to come.

Hearing From You

On Thursday, December 12^that 7:45 p.m., I will hold a telephone town hall meeting open to all residents of central New Jersey to hear directly from you and share with you updates on my work in Congress.

Many of you will automatically receive calls on Tuesday evening inviting you to join; however, to ensure that you are called, please visit http://holt.house.gov/townhall to RSVP by no later than 3 p.m. on Thursday, December 12^th.  I hope you will be able to join us next week.

A High Honor

Last month, central New Jersey resident Daniel Kahneman, who has taught at Princeton University for twenty years, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. 

Kahneman is best known for studying the cognitive biases that make it difficult for all of us to behave rationally. His research has particular implications for economics, which too often models human beings as wholly rational creatures immune to cognitive biases. Indeed, Kahneman, a psychologist by training, received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2002. He also recently published a bestselling book, Thinking, Fast and Slow.

As President Obama said in presenting the award, “All of us have moments when we look back and wonder, ‘What the heck was I thinking?’ Psychologist Daniel Kahneman has made that simple question his life’s work.”

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress