CHEYENNE - Wyoming officials and the leader of a national group that pushes for motorized vehicle access on public lands say it's a victory that the National Park Service will continue to allow snowmobiles to cross Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone National Park.

Park Service draft proposals had recommended closing Sylvan Pass during the winter because of the danger of avalanches. The pass is located inside Yellowstone's east entrance and reaches 8,530 feet in elevation.

In a final decision signed Tuesday by Park Service Regional Director Mike Snyder in Denver, the agency stated that it would continue to use howitzers and other means to trigger avalanches to make the pass safe this winter.

But the agency stated that it intended to take no action to trigger avalanches in coming winters and would allow snowmobiles and snowcoaches to cross only when forecasting indicated the pass was naturally safe.

The state of Wyoming and many area residents had opposed Park Service plans to close Sylvan Pass. They said doing so would reduce recreational opportunities and hurt tourism in the area.

State Rep. Colin Simpson, R-Cody, negotiated with the Park Service to keep the pass open.

"It's a step in the right direction in keeping it open, subject to the full forecasting," Simpson said this week. "We in Park County have always preferred the howitzer management option, and no closure."

Simpson said he expects talks between local residents and Park Service officials on access issues will resume next month. He said issues will include how to reduce avalanche dangers on the pass, and who will pay for the work.

Cara Eastwood, spokeswoman for Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, said the governor sees the Park Service announcement as a positive development.

"But it's a short-term solution," Eastwood said. "And there are still questions about what will happen in the long term."

In addition to addressing Sylvan Pass, the Park Service decision also sets a limit of 540 guided snowmobile trips per day at Yellowstone. The park saw as many as 1,400 snowmobiles daily during the 1990s, when louder, more polluting two-stroke engines were the norm.

"We continue to have concerns about the snowmobile numbers," Eastwood said of the new limit. "The feeling here is that the number that was arrived at was not determined by science, and the governor is concerned about the guiding requirement."

Wyoming sees the future of funding for avalanche control on Sylvan pass as a federal decision, Eastwood said. She said Freudenthal has said he might support the state participating in federal avalanche control on the pass on a limited basis. But she said that would depend on the Wyoming Legislature appropriating the necessary funding.