WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives rejected efforts on Thursday to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and to prohibit the use of federal money to kill bison.

Both provisions were debated as part of a bill, HR2691, that would provide $19.6 billion for the Interior Department for fiscal year 2004. Western Republicans, led by Reps. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., and Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., fought against the amendments, which were supported by Eastern Democrats.

The amendment that would ban snowmobiles in the parks was rejected by a vote of 210 to 210 and the amendment prohibiting the spending of federal money to kill bison was rejected by a vote of 199 to 220. Under House rules when there is a tie the amendment is defeated.

The House left the full funding bill as unfinished business Thursday, but it was expected to pass.

Westerners in the House opposed both the substance of the amendments and tactic of attaching them to the spending measure. Policy provisions that are attached to spending bills are referred to as ''riders," because they are hitching a ride on the spending bills, which are supposed to be used to provide money rather than make policy.

Rep. Nick J. Rahall III, D-W.Va., defended the use of riders, noting that Republicans, who are in the majority, are preventing the issue from being addressed in the policy-making Resources Committee.

''We are forced to use this tactic," said Rahall, who is the top Democrat on the Resources Committee. ''The Resources Committee will not allow the issue to be addressed."

The full glory of the guerilla tactics was on display during the debate over the bison amendment. Rahall proposed that the National Park Service's bison symbol be flipped upside down so it would look like a dead animal with its legs pointed skyward.

Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., who leads the Resources Committee panel that has jurisdiction over the National Park Service, said he has no plans to address either the use of snowmobiles in the parks or the killing of bison.

''I think they're being dealt with by the administration," Radanovich said. ''There is progress being made and that's why we haven't dealt with it."

On both issues supporters and opponents questioned the facts presented by the other side.

Supporters of banning snowmobiles said new four-stroke machines are not significantly better than the older two-stroke machines.

''They are noisy and they pollute," Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, D-Pa., said. ''The solution is to phase them out and replace them with snowcoaches."

Rehberg, Cubin and other supporters of permitting snowmobiles in the parks praised the four-stroke machines and attacked the snowcoaches.

''Snowcoaches?" Rehberg said. ''They are the loudest and smelliest way of getting yourself around the park." Cubin's assessment of the snowcoaches was equally harsh.

''What is a snowcoach?" Cubin asked. ''It sounds nice, warm and fuzzy. It is actually a modified SUV."

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who supports banning snowmobiles, said Rehberg and Cubin were describing ''1950s era" snowcoaches.

The bison are killed under a Clinton-era policy aimed at preventing them from spreading brucellosis to livestock in surrounding communities. The disease does not harm the bison, but it can cause cows to abort their calves.

Supporters and opponents of the amendment fundamentally disagree about the threat posed by the disease.

''The transfer of the disease from bison to cattle has never happened," said amendment sponsor Rahall. ''It has never happened. It is only a theory."

Opponents say that it is impossible to definitively prove that the disease can be spread from bison to cows.

''That is ludicrous," Rehberg said. ''To prove it you would have to see a cow lick a bison's fetus and then go and test the cow." Cubin had a similar reaction.

''That is simply not true," Cubin told Rahall. ''Controlling brucellosis is a delicate balancing act for all parties involved. This is knee-jerk legislation that those of us in the surrounding communities have to live with."

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., noted that the Interior Department does not kill elk that are infected with brucellosis.

Hinchey promised to offer a ''comprehensive" solution to stop the killing of Yellowstone bison. Such a bill is unlikely to go far because Republican leaders who control the agenda oppose it.

A standalone bill to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton also would not have much of a future. Last year, the Interior Department reversed a Clinton administration ban on snowmobiles in the parks.

Cubin and Rehberg also prevailed against an effort to ban bear baiting on federal lands. The amendment to ban bear baiting failed by a vote of 163 to 255.

Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., offered the amendment to ban hunters from baiting bears on federal lands in Wyoming and the eight other states where the practice of using everything from donuts to pizza to grease to lure black bears is legal.

Democrats and Eastern Republicans joined Western Republicans in opposing the amendment.

''It is the most effective and humane way to manage bear populations," Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., said. ''If we take this tool away there will be an explosion in bear populations."

The Interior Department spending bill includes more than $20 million for projects in Wyoming.

Approximately half of the money would be spent on projects in Yellowstone National Park. The bill would provide $5.9 million for rehabilitating the Old House, at Old Faithful Inn, $1.9 million for work on the West Entrance Station, and $2.9 million for general repairs in the park.

Lawmakers rejected a Bush administration request to eliminate funding for the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center and instead provided $4 million for the center.

The bill also includes $500,000 for wolf monitoring programs, $1.5 million to reduce Interior Department delays in reducing permits for coalbed methane wells and $4 million for the Laramie-based Western Research Institute.