Written by Mikayla Shoup
St George News

ST. GEORGE — The Bureau of Land Management recently purchased a $5 million parcel of land from a private landowner in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

The Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Washington County, Utah.
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, St. George News

The purchase of the 113-acre property, located within the boundaries of both the Washington County Mojave desert tortoise mitigation reserve and the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, was closed on Aug. 15.

The purchase was made as part of the BLM’s efforts to consolidate land within the conservation area. Currently, the land is under “checkboard ownership,” meaning that the conservation area is owned by a number of private parties and government agencies.

“What we’re looking at doing is to consolidate the land ownership within the Red Cliffs NCA, which allows for us to continue the conservation stewardship and partnership with local communities, specifically Washington County,” BLM spokesperson Christian Venhuizen told St. George News.

According to the agency, having the land belong to multiple sources can make it more difficult to successfully protect the habitat of the Mojave desert tortoise, which was placed on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1989.

Currently, the BLM owns nearly 45,000 acres of the over 61,000-acre conservation area, while over 13,000 acres are owned by the state and 2,631 acres are still owned by private parties, according to the BLM’s annual manager’s report.

In 2016, the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan made it so that the BLM could legally acquire private inholdings from willing property owners in order to better conserve the habitat. This can be done through trade or by purchase at market value from willing landowners.

“We’re able to ensure that the stewardship and the values within the national conservation area is maintained and provide for the resources,” Venhuizen said.

The Red Cliffs National Conservation Area was first established in 2009 as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 with the intention of providing a safe habitat for the tortoises and to give the community an outdoor recreation area.

The $5 million parcel was purchased using money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is allowed through a recent reauthorization in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in March.

Bi-partisan legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate that would make recreation on public lands a higher priority for the federal government. S. 1967, introduced in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and H.R. 3458, introduced in the House by Reps. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) would do the following:

Simplifies procedures for the issuance of recreational permits by setting time limits for the processing of such permits; reduces fees; mandates online purchases; and provides for the issuance of a single joint permit for multijurisdictional trips
Directs federal land agencies to make recreation a priority when making land and water management decisions
Encourages the use of volunteers in trail maintenance including the creation of uniform interagency trail maintenance standards for trails the cross agency jurisdictional boundaries
Seeks to enhance coordination between federal and state recreation agencies and allows for the purchase of a state(s) and federal recreation pass with one transaction
This legislation is widely supported by a diverse group of recreation organizations, motorized and non-motorized, including ARRA. Despite this strong support, it’s critical that we secure more co-sponsors for the legislation in both the House and Senate. Will you do your part by writing to your Representative and your Senators requesting their co-sponsorship of these respective bills?

The ARRA Action Center makes it easy for you to reach out to Congress. Take a few minutes now and send an important message to your elected representatives on Capitol Hill.

Respond Here

JUNE 2019 POWERSPORT NEWS

Hanksville, Utah – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced increased access and off- highway vehicle (OHV) opportunities within the Factory Butte Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) near Hanksville, UT.
The Richfield Field Office has rescinded the 2006 Factory Butte OHV travel restriction after meeting criteria to develop a threatened and endangered species monitoring plan and installing infrastructure to protect endangered cactus species.
“We have been monitoring and installing infrastructure over the last 10 years to protect endangered cactus species so that the BLM can enhance recreational access at Factory Butte,” Joelle McCarthy, BLM Richfield Field Manager, said. “We have met all of the necessary criteria. Factory Butte provides nationally renowned opportunities for motorized recreation where families and OHV enthusiasts can play.”
Two OHV play areas have been subject to temporary travel restrictions until certain monitoring and infrastructure requirements were in place: Factory Butte (5,300 acres) and Caineville Cove (100 acres). After meeting the criteria, those play areas are now available for motorized use. Additionally, riders can continue to enjoy cross country riding at Factory Butte within the Swing Arm City OHV Play Area (2,602 acres), as well as more than 200 miles of designated routes in the area.
“We have worked closely with the BLM to conserve the rare and endangered plants found exclusively in southcentral Utah,” Larry Crist, project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Utah Ecological Services Field Office, said. “We support lifting the restriction order and will continue to work with the BLM to ensure recreation and conservation activities here remain compatible and sustainable.”
The BLM seeks to maintain motorized access to the area while protecting endangered plant species. The BLM, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has been monitoring these species annually since 2009. To ensure that visitors can maintain access to these areas, the BLM requires cross country motorized users to stay within the OHV open play areas and on designated routes within the SRMA. Maps and information are posted on kiosks throughout the SRMA and are available at the BLM offices in Richfield and Hanksville, UT.
The BLM asks visitors to the Factory Butte SRMA to ride by the rules and stay on designated routes when riding outside of the open areas. Future motorized access is dependent on compliance and continued protection of the endangered cactus species under the Endangered Species Act. You can also get involved by volunteering with the BLM to maintain signage, infrastructure, and provide resource education and safety information to riders visiting the SRMA.
If you have questions, or would like to know more about opportunities for riding or volunteering at Factory Butte, visit the Henry Mountains Field Station in Hanksville, at 380 South 100 West, or call (435) 542-3461. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.

New GPX tracks have been added for the Hump’N’Bump trails in Logandale, NV.  Thanks to Vegas Valley 4 Wheelers for providing these and their generous donation to UPLA.  Check them out at www.vv4w.org

Melissa Fischer – April 1 at 2:38 PM

What a work project in Pritchett Canyon right before EJS! Almost 350 ft of fence, several carsonites, and rock placements to protect vegetation.

The BLM was very concerned about the area below Rocker Knocker and asked that we try to narrow down the “parking lot” and some of the bypasses being created to the right and left of the obstacle as well as the area above the obstacle where many of us stop for lunch. And, could we do it before Safari?!

As a reminder, none of us enjoy fencing areas off but of all trails in the Moab area, none are, in my opinion, more at risk than Pritchett. This trail is the boundary of Wilderness Study Area and has been reported for damage to the BLM in the past.

If everyone could just drive the trails instead of driving over vegetation or finding smoother, easier routes, fencing wouldn’t be necessary.

I want to thank all of the fantastic volunteers who showed up to carry supplies and manage such a large project.

We also had representatives from BLM and DNR out there to see that off-roaders do care about trail damage and will do what it takes to keep our trails open.

The amount of damage we are seeing from the explosion of motorsports tourism in Moab is beyond what we alone can fix.

Please, when visiting, stay the trail, leave it better than you find it, and educate others to do the same. If not, we may see trails shut down in the near future!

Thanks again volunteers! You did an amazing job!

Bill Stevens, BLM

Illegal route right of Rocker Knocker

Public land swaps are common in this country and hundreds of acres of land might be exchanged in any given year. As part of our mission to preserve Utah’s public lands for all to enjoy and use, we at Utah Public Lands Alliance keep an eye on ongoing land swaps that might restrict our use of these public lands.

The Land Exchange Program

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts land swaps with other landowners in order to acquire important or threatened lands while disposing of lands that have become difficult or impossible to manage. This allows BLM to trade off parcels of private or public land, to smooth out ownership of land in the country and to improve access to public land. The agency is authorized to conduct land exchanges under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. Furthermore, Congress sometimes enacts legislation that governs or authorizes specific land swaps.

FLPMA outlines how land exchanges are to happen. Some of the stipulations include:

• Land exchanges must be in the public interest.
• The nonfederal and federal lands to be swapped must be in the same state.
• The value of the lands swapped are to be equal – sometimes payments may be made under strict and specific terms to equalize the value.

Some land exchanges involve single parcels of land while others have involved the consolidation of multiple parcels involving one or more swaps over time.

Does the Public Really Benefit?

Lands that are acquired by BLM through exchange become public lands and are managed under existing authorities.

While land swaps can offer local communities better access to public land or help in preserving areas of historic, natural or recreational significance, these exchanges are not always benign. There have been instances where land swaps have benefitted private interests such as mining conglomerates, timber companies and developers who then traded used-up tracts for pristine swathes of land. This compounded by under-appraisal of public lands and overvaluing of private lands means that the swaps sometimes yield dubious benefits to the public.

Additionally, the complexity and obscurity of land swaps mean that the public often remains in the dark, hence largely unaware about the entire process.

Support Our Work To Preserve Utah’s Lands

Given the importance of our public lands, the UPLA works to expand public knowledge of the land swap program and encourages citizens to become more involved in his crucial issue. Through our projects, we strive to make a difference in Utah land use and we won’t hesitate to speak out when our public lands are threatened.

You too can get involved with UPLA through one of our membership options, subscribing to our newsletter or sharing our mission and work with others. We also hold or assist in events to encourage people to enjoy this beautiful land we have.

It would be tragic if the public lost some of the most valuable lands we have left. That’s why we encourage all Utahns and Americans to join us in our cause to preserve and keep Utah’s public lands for public use.