NEPA rules that were proposed last summer have now been finalized, and they are very disturbing. The new rules dramatically reduce the requirement for Agencies to allow comments from the public, both in reductions in the stages or actions, the open period for comments (as little as 10 days), and revision of the Review Conferences to be conducted by the same person that signed the Decision rather than an independent person. These are only a few of our concerns, and we forwarded these comments to both Forest Service and elected officials.

There’s nothing you need to do at this time, but just want you to be aware of this and our pursuits.

UPLA Comment for USDA Forest Service Proposed Rule – Project-Level Predecisional Administrative Review Process

Comments are Due Tonight September 19 to Support Recission of the Forest Service Roadless Rule

Submit Your Comments Here

UPLA – USDA Proposal to Rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule FINAL COMMENT

UPLA was asked to prepare a briefing for Congress on the importance of volunteerism in helping with the management of our public lands. I shared a personal experience from working with the San Bernardino National Forest through their Adopt a Trail Program to encourage them to expand AAT within National Forests and to implement a similar program within BLM.

UPLA Congressional Hearing Briefing on Volunteerism

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The challenge we’ve always faced with Travel Management is that we’re always playing catch up with only 30 days for most comment periods, by the time we get the word out and ask people to go out and write comments, we’re playing catch up and don’t have time to run trails or provide great comments to persuade BLM or Forest Service to Keep them Open.

UPLA launched Trail Saver, a new tool for you to prepare notes after each ride you go on, anywhere in Utah. There’s nothing more effective than putting your thoughts in writing right after your ride when everything is fresh in your mind, and your photos and gpx tracks are easily available. If you spend just 5-10 minutes writing a brief report, it will really help us collect better data. Once you submit the form, it will email you a formatted copy of your comments for that trail along with some helpful hints that will make it easy to submit your comments when they are needed. We all think of something else right after we hit submit, Trail Saver allows you to edit or add to your comments, and will immediately send you a revised report. UPLA, BlueRibbon, and local clubs working that area may also be copied on the comments so that they can also assist.

You don’t have to worry about confusing dates either, once the comment period opens for that Travel Management Plan, Trail Saver will email you a reminder with all of your comments, photos, tracks, ratings, etc, along with more tips and instructions on how to submit them to BLM and or Forest Service. For the system to work effectively, you will need the BLM or Forest Service Route numbers, so I recommend you take a pic of those signs as you go by them and include those when submitting your form.

TrailSaver reports should be thought of as your notes about what makes keeping the route open important, views, dispersed campsites, challenging or easy, significant vistas, connections to other important routes can all be important. Make an effort to write short notes on every trail you go on, and let Trail Saver keep track of them. When it’s time to submit comments to BLM, TrailSaver will email you your report along with all your photos and other attachments to make it easy to submit great comments. Unfortunately, 90% of all comments submitted to BLM are not considered because they don’t meet BLM “substantive comment” standards. To learn what makes your comments make a stronger impact, watch our series of short videos on Youtube, or click on this helpful BLM link

Order and display TrailSaver stickers on your rigs so you can explain the program to others you run into. You can order stickers for yourself, group, or club at www.TrailSaver.com

Comments are now open for Henry Mountains and Fremont Gorge, which you should submit to BLM. Other areas coming soon will be Trail Canyon and Pausaugant in Kanab and Dino North in Vernal, so we especially need reports on these, but please submit reports everywhere you go in

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The Chevron Deference Doctrine was overturned by the Supreme Court today in a 6-3 decision in the Loper Bright v. Raimondo case. Chevron has been the law of the land since 1984, and ordered lower courts to recognize that federal agencies should be regarded as the experts where a law was ambiguous, and as a result caused Federal agencies to get ever more aggressive in their interpretation of underlying laws in making rules, without fear of a court overrruling their interpretation. This is a landmark decision against the Federal Government in their aggressive rulemaking which restricts the rights of not only OHV users, but also many other groups such as gun owners, the environment, the workplace and even health care.

Chief Justice delivered the decision today and said that Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the Administrative Procedure Act] requires, The chief justice called the earlier decision a “judicial invention that required judges to disregard their statutory duties.”

Chevron doctrine has been applied by lower courts in thousands of cases. The Supreme Court itself has invoked the framework to uphold agencies’ interpretations of statutes at least 70 times, but not since 2016, when the Court began to drift away from their conviction for the Doctrine.

This is definitely a landmark decision that will shift our fight against Federal overreaches in restricting responsible use of our public lands, and may lead to many new arguments against devastating rules such as the recently adopted BLM Landscape Health Rule that allows conservation leases and a host of other new rules not addressed by FLPMA.

If you’d like to read the court decision, you can find it here…

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