UPLA, BlueRibbon Coalition, SLOREX, and At Your Leisure are cosponsoring a Workshop to be more effective in preserving access to our Public Lands. We need you to invest 3 hours to learn how you can make a difference.

Even though motorized OHV has always had a strong relationship with BLM and Forest Service staff, and been quick to volunteer to complete projects on public lands, we have been at a disadvantage in Travel Management Planning because we have not been as effectively engaged as our opponents. If we fail to improve our strategies,  these closures will expand to affect every outdoor recreationist. Equestrians, campers, rock climbers, base jumpers, snowmobilers, hunters, fishermen, boaters, and mountain bikers will all be affected as more public lands are designated as wilderness, areas with wilderness character, or Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) The elimination of roads and dispersed camping areas will limit access to staging and parking areas, making your favorite areas further and further from accessible roads. Even those clamoring for more wilderness experiences will have much longer treks to get to their favorite areas, a weekend trip now will become a week long trip in the future. Cyclists, rock climbers and canyoneers are currently facing rulings that propose elimination of e-bikes and fixed anchors in National Parks. As remote areas are more limited with accessibility, injuries and rescue attempts will increase and be even more expensive, resulting in further restrictions or closure.

In Utah, there are 25 Travel Management Areas on BLM’s calendar for development or reevaluation of current plans. More are in store for Forest Service and National Monuments.

The importance of understanding the NEPA process, and being able to proactively and effectively participate in the process has never been greater, and we must become smarter and more effective at working together to influence the NEPA process.

Utah Public Lands Alliance, BlueRibbon Coalition, Salt Lake Off Road Expo, and At Your Leisure are cosponsoring a workshop on February 29 to help us all understand how we can make a difference. Our workshop presenter will be Tammy Pike, a retired BLM Travel Management Planner, who is a renowned expert in the NEPA process. Her experience spans 30 years, the last 25 focused on trails, off highway vehicles and travel management planning while both conserving our natural resources AND providing the best recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy now and in the future. She has won countless awards from not only BLM, but the Forest Service, Arizona State Land Department, and many OHV and other recreational groups.  She earned a National Customer Service Award from BLM, one of the highest possible commendations.

Tammy will help us develop a strategy to communicate clearly in the NEPA process at all levels to get our views considered in the process. We believe she is the best person to teach us how to restore balance to a system that has been heavily weighted against us. Making comments is a critical step in influencing final outcomes, and she will teach us how to make comments that are both substantive and effective. Questions and answers are an invaluable part of any discussion, because it allows you to ask your questions  and get answers from an expert. We have a full hour at the end of the program allocated just to your questions and answers where she will be joined by panelists Ben Burr and Simone Griffen from BlueRibbon Coalition, as well as Rose Winn, our new UPLA Public Policy Consultant.

For us to change the tide, we must all come together, and we must start acting as Big As We Are. If you really care about making a difference in keeping our lands accessible, make plans to attend this workshop the day prior to SLOREX opening.

What:            NEPA Comments Training Workshop

Where:          Mountain America Expo Center, 9575 State Street, Sandy UT

When:           February 29 1:30 -4:30

Space is limited, RSVP and submit questions and topics you would like included in the presentation.

RSVP To Attend Here

February 20, 2024 Update-I met with Matt Preston, Deputy Utah State Director for BLM to discuss upcoming Travel Management Planning (TMP) for Utah. We went over each of the following 5 areas that I spoke to Dave Jacobson about, and some general considerations in the planning process. Matt indicated that the primary objective for BLM planning is resource management, and that comes from the very top of our government. While recreation will remain an important factor in decisions, increasing weight is being placed on decisions for ways to protect and/or mitigate effects on the environment. Matt has already setup contacts for me with the next 2 Travel Management Area (TMA) project managers, and I will be getting more information from them within the coming days.

He also explained that for the SUWA Settlement TMPs, there is an extra step in the process where they will release Preliminary Alternatives before the Draft EA. This will include a map of the tentative routes for each alternative. This will give us an important tool to begin the process of doing detailed evaluation of all the routes. The Preliminary Alternatives for the San Rafael Swell were released today. You can view the four alternatives by clicking here. We will ask for better maps on our calls in the coming days. There are over 2,000 miles of routes in the Swell, and a lot of lots slated for closure in Alternatives B and C. This will require a lot of concerted effort to begin the process of surveying the trails and preparing comments. This will be the test bed of our process to accomplish this.

The general descriptions for the various alternatives can be described as the following:

• A=No Changes to Current Plan
• B=Conservation focused, largest OHV closures or restrictions
• C=Balanced alternative between OHV and Conservation
• D=OHV Focused Alternative, little closures and perhaps some additions

The Preliminary Alternatives will proceed the release of the Draft EA, so we will have more time to prepare our research.

I asked him about the general direction of BLM in their Alternative decision, and he said that we should expect to see less reliance on BLM selecting an Alternative, but rather a route by route analysis and decision on each route individually. This will require us to take a much wider focus on routes, including an additional focus on B alternative routes. You should stay tuned on some new tools UPLA is working on to assist us in this process.

I met with Dave Jacobson on February 5, the newly appointed Travel Management Plan Manager for Utah. I wanted to get an updated listing of all of the TMPs and RMPs coming down the pike so we can get ahead of them. There are 24 TMPs in Utah, and one more RMP to come in the Grand Staircase. Here’s the map that shows each area.Utah TMP and Field Office Map

Here’s the breakdown of Plans around the corner.

1. Priority List of TMPs coming and expected next date for comments and estimated final date
   1. San Rafael Swell (Price)-Comments should reopen around March 1, with Final by November 2024
   2. Bears Ears (Monticello)-Comments should open February 2024, Final by end of 2024
   3. Henry Mountains & Freemont Gorge (Richfield)-Comments should open around May 2024, with Final by November 2024
   4. Trail Canyon (Kanab)-Comments should open in April 2024 with Final end of 2024
   5. Delores River (Moab)-Very small, it will go fast, expect final January 2025

Start running trails on this Priority List, record the tracks, take photos, and put together your stories about what the trail means to you. We will address each TMP separately as we get information.

One other request that Dave thought would be very helpful is to volunteer to your local BLM office to take them out on a field trip so they can see the land, how we use it, and how we take care of it. It is suggested you contact your local District Field Manager or you can email Dave Jacobson and he will arrange some staff to join you. This will be a great way to get to know your local managers.

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.