The giant Salt Lake Off-Road and Outdoor Expo is coming to Sandy, UT March 1-2. Utah Public Lands Alliance and BlueRibbon Coalition will be in Booths 2330 and 2331, stop by and pickup up a free backpack and learn what you can do to keep our public lands open.
Learn More About the Show and Get your Tickets Here
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Loper Bright v Raimondo case, which will answer a legal question about the precedent established in the Chevron Doctrine, which grants deference to Federal agencies in determining rules where the underlying law is silent and/or ambiguous. This will be a landmark decision if Chevron is overturned in many different areas where the Courts are required to defer to agencies as they are the experts.
I am hopeful that the questions posed by the Justices will generate a favorable outcome in overturning or restricting application of Chevron when they render their decision in June. There’s a lot of information on the internet about this case, but you can listen to the arguments yourself on the Supreme Court’s website. It’s very interesting to actually hear the arguments and questions being posed by the attorneys and Justices, and it’s only a little over an hour of listening time.
You can listen to it here Loper Bright Arguments
Last month we got word that the Trail Canyon Travel Management Plan was being released soon and that the Barracks Trail and Poverty Wash were likely to be closed as they are in Alternative B, which is the alternative BLM selected in Moab that closed so many miles of trails. We will have another chance to save this trail when the Draft Environmental Analysis is released, probably in April, and we will notify you when comments open up.
If these trails are important to you, you need to get prepared in writing comments about how this harm you. Take a trip out there and run the trail, take photos of how you use the trail, and your favorite spots.
Thank you for those of you that submitted emails to us, they were touching and exactly what we were looking for. We will keep them until comments open, and then contact you about submitting them directly to BLM.
Through the generosity of UPLA’s supporters, cooperating clubs, and a match of $50,000, Loren Campbell presented BlueRibbon Coalition with $103,317 to fight against the constant onslaught of route closures in Utah in the closing ceremonies of Winter 4×4 Jamboree.
The final check was presented to BlueRibbon Coalition’s Public Policy Director, Simone Griffin. Board President Ranch Pratt and Board Members Matt “Sarge” Westrich and Phil Rawlings also expressed their appreciation for the Community’s support.
Here is a partial list of Donors that supported this effort
Thank you so much for fighting!
UPLA is supporting Matt’s Off Road Games from March 14-16 again this year, and we need your help. MORR hosted their first Off Road Wrecker Games last year, and made a very significant donation to UPLA and Washington County Search and Rescue, and they are stepping up their commitment for the 2024 Off Road Games. Matt’s will donate $10 out of every ticket sold to UPLA and Search and Rescue, $5 to each.
We need your help in making his event even more successful than last year by volunteering for Event Setup/Teardown, Check In, Safety and Security, Shuttle Drivers, Parking, or just general support. By volunteering, you’ll get a free event pass, ($124.99 value) plus a T Shirt and lunch during your shift. Shifts are only 4 hours long, and your support will generate needed funds to not only keep our trails open, but also to support SAR in their mission to be there in an emergency.
Signup Today Off-Road Games – Volunteer Sign Up (google.com)
Thank You
Loren Campbell
President
Utah Public Lands Alliance
SUWA is the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, a 501c3 charitable organization with offices in Salt Lake City, Moab, and Washington DC. Their stated “Mission of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans.”
To fulfill their mission to have more lands designated as Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas, or Areas with Wilderness Character SUWA has used their army of attorneys to bring countless lawsuits against the BLM and other land managers. The threat of litigation has often pushed land managers into submission when evaluating new plans in favor of SUWA’s extreme environmental policy. Their single focused dedication to wilderness is serving only a narrow segment of Americans, while depriving the vast majority of Americans from enjoying our public lands.
SUWA has significant financial resources to gain ground through the courts, but they may have a big chink in their armor when it comes to Finances.. Their latest 990 Tax Return showed they had $25M in assets at the beginning of 2022, but only $22M at the end. In addition, they have unrealized losses of $3.2M in investments, that’s a decline of almost $6M in 2022 alone, a 25% decline. Compounding the issue with their balance sheet, their total revenue decreased in 2022 by almost 50%, yet expenses increased. The result was a net loss of $46,713 in 2022, compared to a profit of $4,743,299 the 2021.
SUWA brags about their Stewardship program that engaged 145 volunteers spending 2,437 volunteer hours during 2022. Sounds impressive until you consider the work hours and money that OHV groups expend improving and maintaining public lands. UPLA’s Sand Mountain Service project last year had 175 people over 2 days working almost 1,400 hours on just that one project. In Washington County alone, UPLA, Desert Roads and Trails Society, Tri State ATV Club, and St George Jeepers spent many more work days last year working on various projects including installing a second composting toilet and building a 5 acre staging area. Countless groups through Utah invested similar volunteer and financial resources on projects not only for OHV, but many other user groups as well.
We are good at doing the work, but we have not been great at getting the credit for it.
I’d like to share a story by Scott Groene, SUWA Executive Director, that is quite revealing about some of SUWA’s exaggerated claims about the pending doom caused by motorized traffic.
“Last summer, a massive flash flood blew through Mill Creek Canyon in southeast Utah, a place I often visit. Bursts of torrential rain filled the canyon with a temporary and raging river that hauled decades-old debris downstream, rearranging the canyon floor. Wandering the canyon afterwards, I was awed by how the flood uprooted or snapped mature trees, created new slickrock bowls where thickets of willow and tamarisk had stood, and washed out heavy brush to leave a parklike stand of tall cottonwoods rising over a floor of smooth bare sand. But I know that next spring, the undergrowth will return. The soils and plants will reestablish themselves where there is now only exposed and water-sculpted stone. The canyon will return to its former state”
I find it humorous that the epic devastation described will be restored in just a few months, yet they consistently complain that impacts caused by motorized vehicles will take many years, or never recover.
In a 2017 settlement of one of SUWA’s lawsuits against BLM, BLM agreed to revise or complete 13 new Travel Management Plans by 2025. The settlement requires BLM to expressly consider impacts to lands with wilderness character, sensitive natural resources, and cultural resources. The recent Labyrinth Rims/Gemini Bridges plan was disastrous to OHV and dispersed camping with 317 miles (30%) of roads and in excess of 120 dispersed campsites closed. Additional Utah Travel Plans to come include Book Cliffs, Dinosaur North, Dolores Triangle, Henry Mountains, Nine Mile, Pausaugunt, San Rafael Swell, and Trail Canyon.
While it is commonly known that SUWA declared war against OHV users 40 years ago, they have carefully hidden the story of the impact this will have on other users such as equestrians, rock climbers, canyoneers, hikers, campers, paragliding, base jumpers, rock hounders, photographers, hunters, fishermen, and river users, which will be outlined later.
To really understand SUWA’s actions, it is important to understand some concepts
Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas can only be designated by an Act of Congress. An area with wilderness character can be designated by BLM, Forest Service, or National Monuments with the stroke of a pen by a mid level manager. Wilderness areas must be at least 5,000 acres in size, and have “naturalness” (where the imprints of human intrusion are “substantially unnoticeable”).
The area must be entirely roadless, no OHV, but also no highways through the area. The proposed Alternative D of the Grand Staircase National Monument would add 559,000 acres as Wilderness, and encompasses an area the size of the State of Delaware, yet allows on 5 roads to traverse the entire area.
The Red Rock Wilderness Act was originally introduced into Congress in 1989, and has been reintroduced every year since without passage. It will add 8 million acres of Wilderness to the 1.8 million currently existing in Utah, an increase of more than 500% 
Permitted Uses are non-motorized recreation including horseback riding, non-commercial herb gathering, hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting. Note that bicycles of all types are not allowed. What is not spoken of is that many of these allowed activities will be impacted because of the new difficulty getting near the area to recreate. A fisherman’s favorite fishing hole may be far less attractive if they have to hike 8 miles to get there. Equestrians will be faced with a much longer ride to get to their favorite areas because of the lack of roads and staging areas. These factors will also likely affect rock climbers, canyoneers, snowmobilers, hikers, campers, paragliding, base jumpers, rock hounders, photographers, hunters, and fishermen.
Prohibited uses include use of motorized vehicles in wilderness including trucks, cars, bulldozers, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, helicopters, and other motorized equipment such as chain saws cannot be used within wilderness areas. Grazing is allowed only if the permit existed continuously prior to the designation of the area as a wilderness. Additional restrictions apply in other areas, in the Grand Staircase, grazing is currently not allowed on 125,000 acres, under Alternative D, it will not be allowed on 1,092,000 acres, a 50% reduction.
SUWA’s strategy seems to be well thought out, and it’s been effective at restricting access to public lands for many users, and as they work to expand the interpretation of FLPMA in new ways, they will continue to be one of our strongest foes. First, they eliminate roads of all types in an area, that is why there is a focus on eliminating duplicate roads to get an area to exceed that 5,000 acre target where it can be considered for wilderness designation. Next, they need to close campsites that are permanent in nature, this includes bear boxes and fire rings, and of course any campsite accessed by any type of road. Eliminating grazing, mining, and extraction of fossil fuels is next. After these are accomplished, they will have the area designated as having wilderness character, which requires BLM to manage it to prevent any disruption in that character.
The proposed BLM Landscape Health and Conservation Rule, which SUWA was a strong supporter of, will be the magic bullet to make these steps much easier to accomplish without Congressional action, including all of the following:
Summary: Ben Burr, Executive Director of BlueRibbon Coalition, has said repeatedly, “we need to start acting as big as we are.” UPLA’s mission is to protect access for all responsible users, not just a privileged few. All the various users using our public lands may have slightly different beliefs, but we should all join together in fighting for access for everyone and stop the divide and conquer philosophy that detracts from our collective power.
Here are some critical steps you can take to make a difference:
Loren Campbell
Sources and References:
BLM Landscape Health and Conservation Rule-UPLA Comments
BLM Landscape Health and Conservation Rule-UPLA link to Rule and Concerns