A recent opinion piece by Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Public Land Policy Coordinating Office Director Redge Johnson got two things right: Public lands in Utah are the envy of the nation (if not the world) and we need to find a balanced approach to when and where motorized vehicles are allowed to travel on those lands. That’s pretty much where our agreement ends.
Maybe the governor and director don’t get out on the land all that much because, if they did, they’d know that over the past 20 years, motorized use has exploded across Utah’s wildest places. There are more than 200,000 off-road vehicles (ORVs) registered in Utah, including dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and side-by-sides (also known as UTVs). That number does not include ORVs trailered in from other states.
The fact is, today’s vehicles are super-charged to go farther than ever into the backcountry and it’s hard to escape the sight and sound of dirt bikes, side-by-sides and ATVs in places like the San Rafael Swell, Dirty Devil and Labyrinth Canyon. That means families visiting these iconic public lands to enjoy some peace and quiet and a night under the stars are instead being squeezed out by clouds of dust, the whine of engines echoing against canyon walls and the on-the-ground damage these vehicles leave in their wake.
To tackle this problem, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency that manages about 23 million acres of public lands in Utah, is updating several plans that identify which dirt roads and trails will remain open to motorized vehicles and which will be closed to that particular use.
One of the plans the BLM recently finished was for the Labyrinth Canyon/Gemini Bridges area outside of Moab, a landscape popular with mountain bikers, off-road vehicle riders, river runners and hikers. In other words, a place of competing uses, interests and expectations. After two years of work — including holding public meetings, receiving thousands of public comments and coordinating with local and state elected officials — the BLM produced a plan that left more than 800 miles of roads and trails open for motorized use while closing just over 300 miles. The majority of the 300 miles that were closed to motorized vehicles protect the Labyrinth Canyon corridor — a congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River and a unique place in the American West where families can enjoy a multi-day, flat water canoe or raft trip in a towering red rock canyon.
How did Governor Cox and Director Johnson describe this years-long public process? “Just this last September, the BLM unilaterally closed 317 miles of roads and trails on public land near Moab.” Unilaterally? Hardly. That kind of hyperbole makes it hard to trust what they’re saying.
The Governor and Director go on to argue that the state of Utah “is not seeking to build more roads. That [argument] is misinformation and untrue, plain and simple.” Except they are seeking to build more roads, and it’s hardly misinformation to say so.
In its recently-completed travel plan for a remote corner of the backcountry known as the San Rafael Desert, the BLM “closed” a little over 100 miles of lines on a map that simply didn’t exist on the ground. For its part, Utah acknowledged that these lines are merely “paper routes (i.e. routes that are only visible on maps but are reclaimed on the ground),” but have sued over this decision anyways. Far from searching for balance, Utah and its leaders are doing what it thinks it does best: trying to “stick it” to the feds.
And let’s talk facts. Across public lands in Utah (BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, and various State lands like State Parks) there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails of all shapes and sizes that will remain open to motorized vehicles no matter what happens with the BLM’s ongoing travel plan efforts. Ensuring access to trailheads, overlooks, campsites and countless popular trails is important and something the BLM seems to be taking seriously. What’s remarkably less serious is elected officials trying to use disabled and elderly Utahns as a basis to tie the BLM’s hands as it works to manage the impacts of motorized vehicles while continuing to provide access to public lands.
Here’s what we have in common with Governor Cox, Director Johnson and frankly most Utahns: We all feel fortunate to call this place home. In particular, Utah’s red rock wilderness is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and it’s no surprise people want to visit and experience it. With a little foresight and planning, the BLM’s new travel plans are going to ensure that there is room for people to do so now and for years to come.
Steve Bloch is the legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).
(SUWA) Laura Peterson is a staff attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Steve Bloch is the legal director and Laura Peterson is a staff attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). SUWA is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City and Washington, DC, a team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape.
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