Every public land user has thought at one time or another how to get help if you had an emergency situation and needed to get help. We just had a friend from California go up for a few days to Death Valley, alone, He was supposed to have met a friend in Beatty last night and he no showed, so yesterday they called the Ranger in the area who found him. He ran into a flash flood and his vehicle got really stuck in the mud up to the frame. He was in good shape after being stuck for 3 days with plenty of water and food, but needed help to get the truck out before more rains come through the wash he’s in. A crew of 3 rigs is heading down to St George to get him out, but without the Ranger locating him the rescue would have been much more difficult.

Think about your communications strategy before you head out. Here’s a few tips to consider from worst to best options.

CB Radios are decent for communicating in a small group, but as far as trying to ask for help, you’re out of luck.

Race Radios (Private land Mobile Radio-PLMR) mobile mounted radios with a vehicle mounted antenna work pretty well, often out 25-50 miles, but you have to have someone monitoring the frequency you are using to be able to relay your request for help. Handheld Race Radios are pretty much worthless for any range.

GMRS Radios that are mobile mounted in a vehicle with a good external antenna also have the same range as Race Radios, and there are GMRS repeaters, but I’m not certain how many there are or exactly how they work yet.

Ham Radios that

are mobile mounted with a good antenna can often get out 75-100 miles with line of sight. There are repeaters in many locations that you can talk through, and often some of the repeater channels are monitored by Ham Operators who will be glad to relay messages for Emergency Assistance. To be able to use the repeater system, you first have to know what repeaters are in the areas you’re traveling in, and you need to program the channel into your radio along with the proper offset and Code. Ham has always been a good emergency service as long as there’s a monitored repeater near you.

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) are a great option for signaling for help. There is a wide range of capability for each device, some only send out an SOS with your location, others feature satellite messaging to provide more details. You need to register with all your information once every 2 years, including your emergency contacts. Registration is free and can be done at www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov. If you’re going to use PLB SOS for emergencies, you should be aware that activating it will notify Search and Rescue to come to your aid, but they will have little information about what kind of help you need. Depending on where you are, you may incur substantial costs for SAR to respond.

Satellite messengers also have the SOS feature, but allow 2 way communications with authorities over Iridium and Globalstar satell

ites. They require some type of subscription service.

Iphone 14 just introduced the capability of Emergency Text Messaging via Satellite. I have listed this last because I think this may be the best way to get the help you need. This feature is available on all Iphone 14 models, and is included free for 2 years when you buy a phone. The system works over the Globalstar Satellite network, and Apple maintains their own Emergency Center to respond and dispatch help. The SOS feature on the phone will automatically transmit over cellular if you have it, or will switch to Satellite mode and help you locate the best position for Satellite reception. My tests have only taken a few seconds to lock onto a satellite. One great feature of the system is that you have the option of also including your emergency contacts in the chat, so everyone receives real time updates of all communications between you and the Emergency Center. Best of all, you are very likely to have the only tool with you whenever you need it, and it’s really easy to use. The system is designed to even work in  with the Crash Detection of the Iphone, even in many cases if you’re inside the vehicle. As with any communications, there are some limitations with things that might block signals such as mountains, tall buildings, or deep canyons.

Another handy thing is that you can share your location (without messaging) to let loved ones know where you are, without it being an emergency. Here’s a great video that explains the features…

One thing for sure, the time for planning what you’re going to do in an emergency is not when you have an emergency. Figure out the plan that works best for you and to discuss it with your friends and family.

H.B. 0180, the Off Road Vehicle Safety Education act, was passed in the 2022 Legislative Session with an effective date of January 1, 2023. Enforccement will not begin until February 1, 2023. This article is to summarize the interview with Chase Pili, the DNR OHV Program Director, and Kevin Mortensen from Ride Utah. The full video can be watched at https://youtu.be/_EtjOtk48ek

Why the Change: There has been a huge increase in OHV use in Utah since 2020. This bill has been in the works for the past 3 years and was prompted by efforts to reduce the number of complaints associated with Off Highway Vehicle use, both on trails and on the streets. The bill was authored by OHV advocates after considerable input from OHV users of all different types. from a wide variety of users types.

What are the Rules for Registration Requirements? Utah Residents will be issued hard plates for street legal OHV vehicles as they have been in the past. OHV registration stickers will be replaced with a special OHV tan hard plate when current registration expires. This will require a trip to the DMV the first time to get the plate. Renewals after you are issued a plate can be done online. Stickers will still be issued for OHV registration for all motorcycles and snowmobiles. Hard plates will make it easier to identify and report bad actors without conflict.

Out of State Residents must apply online (www.OHV.Utah.Gov) for their OHV Permit. The sticker will be mailed to them, but they will be issued a temporary if they are already in the state. You will be required to provide proof of course completion to complete your application.

Who must take the OHV Course? Every OHV driver 18 years of age or older that recreates on public lands must take the class. By definition, this includes Type 1 (ATV), Type 2 (UTV Sxs), Type 3 (Non Street Legal Full Size-Buggies), and Off Highway Motorcycles. Both Utah residents and non residents must take the course, including those that rent vehicles. E-Bikes are not considered OHV vehicles and are not subject to the course requirements.

Street Legal Full Size Vehicles (i.e. Jeeps), snowmobiles, husbandry vehicles or registrants at a sanctioned OHV event are exempt and not required to take the course.

More about the course The course is FREE to everyone, if you go to a website that charges a fee, you should go back to www.OHV.Utah.Gov It takes about 20-25 minutes and includes questions in each section that you must answer correctly to complete it (The answers are in the text right above the questions)

What about the Youth Course? If a driver is under 18, they must take a Youth course as they have in the past. The cost for the Youth Course is the same $35 that has been charged for years, and can be done online or in person. When a person completes the Youth course, that Certificate will be good for life, they will not have to take the Over 18 course. A separate change was also made last year that allows youth of any age to take the class as long as they can safely operate the controls (the minimum age was 8 year)

How do I prove I took the course? After completion, you can download a digital copy for your phone or print it out. I recommend if you store it on your phone as a picture you put it in a special folder or mark it as a favorite to make it easy to locate.

What are the penalties for violation of the rules?  Fines may be levied for violations as they have been in the past by law enforcement and local courts, and are considered either infractions or Class B or C misdemeanors. A new provision applies to users that cause damage to trail systems which will add to any fines the requirement that the court shall order the person to perform community service in the form of repairing any damage to the public land in the area where the damage occurred. The court shall determine the approximate value of the damage caused and calculate the number of hours required by using the rate of $25 per hour. What does this mean? If a violation causes $2500 worth of damage on a trail, they will be required to perform 100 hours of community service in the local area. Being ordered to do 100 hours of work by a court is probably not what most people would want to do on their time off, especially if they have to travel far from home and incur travel expenses.

Contrary to many people’s comments online, fines assessed do not go into the OHV budget, they are assessed by local municipalities.

Summary We should not expect this course or the registration changes to completely eliminate complaints, but whatever improvement we get will help us in our fight to keep trails open. Education will always be our best resource to keep our trails open!

UPLA is proud to announce our sponsorship of Katelyn Boren in the WEROCK Pro Series for 2023. Katelyn has been competing in rock crawling competitions for 3 years-since she was 13! In 2022, she tied for 1^st place in the Grand nationals held in Farmington, NM

For 2023 the Hurricane resident is moving up from the Sportsman class to the Pro Mod Series.

Katelyn not only has a passion for the sport, but also for taking care of the land. She has been actively engaged in many trail maintenance projects, and will be speaking about UPLA’s mission during the coming year.

We wish Katelyn much luck and success in her competition during 2023. Click here to see our Announcement on YouTube

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What is R.S, 2477? RS 2477 is a federal law that authorized construction of roads across federal public lands that was passed in 1866. It helped settle the West for 110 years. Residents of Utah, visitors, pioneers, and settlers created and used thousands of roads across public lands for farming, ranching, hunting, recreating, mining, and connecting communities. We continue to use many of these routes daily and some occasionally or seasonally.

Although Congress repealed R.S, 2477 in 1976 when they enacted the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Section 701 preserved all R.S. 2477 rights of ways that existed at the time FLPMA was passed and preserved them for public use.

There is no formal administrative or judicial process under FLPMA, but in 2012 the Utah Attorney General filed lawsuits relating to R.S. 2477 rights of wa

y. In 2015, the Utah Federal District Court entered an order that established a process for processing 12,500 right of way claims throughout the state. One of the requirements was that Utah had to submit proof of county maintenance or public use of claimed right of way for a period of at least 10 years prior to October 21, 1976.

It is important to note that R.S. 2477 routes can be across both private and public land, which is especially important to protect access to public land that crosses over privately owned land. This is becoming even more important as development increases throughout Utah.

PLPCO’s Role The Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office (PLPCO) is a state agency that provides research and litigation support for R.S. 2477 claims. One of their first tasks was to document each of the 12,500 Utah roads, which is available publicly on their Access Map 360° , which shows not only the route, but also video tours of the routes to show the condition of their existence.

How to get Help If a route is threatened near you, and you want to see if R.S. 2477 may help in keeping it open, follow these steps.

• Check the Access Map 360° to see if the route is catalogued
• If it is catalogued, build a statement giving all relevant facts such as the Road #, who and why is threatening closure, and documentation that the road is still in public use. Send an email with all your documentation to PLPCO, and please also copy UPLA
• PLPCO will contact you about your claim.

PLPCO has Attorney Generals in their office that will assist in working the claim, often working with your local County Attorney General to resolve the matter.

Utah Code 72-5-104 also provides protection for Prescriptive Easements for public roads in use for more than 10 years. Iron County recentlly passed an Ordinance that makes it illegal to close “public” roads, notifying land owners to reopen the road or face administrative action from the County. I recently testified at a Washington County Planning Commission hearing where they adopted an Ordinance that requires owners include any R.S. 2477 roads be disclosed in their applications to ensure they remain open. UPLA will be pursuing the Washington County Commissioners adopt a similar Ordinance as that of Iron County.

Be sure to let UPLA know of R.S. 2477 issues or pending legislation in your area.

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Learn How UPLA is working to protect your rights!

I would like to thank everyone that submitted comments during the scoping period of the Labyrinth Canyon/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan (TMP). As of last Friday, there were 8077 comments filed from all over the United States, and I’m sure that number grew substantially over the weekend.

The Bureau of Land Management is required to go through this review of their 2008 TMP as a result of a settlement agreement they entered into with SUWA. Being a Federal Agency, the BLM is required to follow the procedures laid out in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This process is required to be completed within 6 years from the settlement date, so it will be ongoing until 2023 through the various processes. In addition, there will be 9 other TMPs that are also required to be reviewed during the next few years.

A common question is, can I make a difference? The short answer is Yes. As an example, the San Rafael Desert released the finalized version of the TMP and it resulted in an increase of authorized trails from 300 miles to more than 765 miles.

UPLA will be providing education on how to make the NEPA process work in our favor, but it will require the ongoing participation of our members and subscribers for several years to come. We will try to provide updates as comments periods open, and how to best structure your comments to be effective.

Marcus from CORE did an excellent video last week that talks about the Moab TMP that will give you an understanding of the process.