On March 24, 2022, the Grand Canyon National Park Service (NPS) announced that they were beginning “civic engagement” to seek public comments for a proposed 3 year advance reservation system in a press release. The Press Release caught the attention of the St George News, which featured an article about the proposed plan that same day.

On March 30, Utah Public Lands Alliance published an article about the proposed Reservation System, asking our members and interested parties to learn more about the limits on usage, and to ask them to submit comments to the National Park Service. Our Facebook posts alone reached a new record of 38,803, by far surpassing the interest of our viewers on any other subject. Many of our members and guests submitted comments before the April 6 deadline.

The NPS received 333 comments during the short 13 days public comments were open. They classified the comments into six primary topic areas and published their comment responses here. It should be noted that in the first paragraph of their response document, they were still referring to the reservation system as “proposed.”

Mid July, UPLA learned that the National Park Service had implemented the reservation system without any changes as a result of the comments that were submitted, now requiring advance reservations to visit the Tuweep area, including Toroweep, Vulcan’s Throne, Kanab Plateau, and Tuweep.

Some of the highlights about the new reservation system are:

• Reservations can be made on https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10089462
• Daily Limits are
  • 2 Slots are available for Commercial Tour Operators
  • 18 Slots are available for Private Vehicles
    • 6 are available from 3 to 120 days in advance of your visit date
    • 12 are available up to 2 days in advance
    • You can only reserve for one vehicle
  • 10 Slots are available for Backcountry permits for camping
• Cost to make a reservation is $2 per vehicle.
• The previous limits of only 4 vehicles/11 people remain in place

On further investigation, Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) learned that the change was done through a Categorical Exclusion (CE) that was drafted on March 9, and signed by Edward T Keable, Park Superintendent, on March 15, 2022, 2 weeks prior to their announcement of accepting public comments. A Categorical Exclusion is a process that bypasses the need for the legal protections afforded by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Staff made the decision in a backroom, then attempted to sell the illusion they were open to comments from the public to influence the policy.

We determined that our best course of action for the time being will be to work with the NPS staff on the details of the 3 year study rather than to pursue a legal challenge at this time. At the conclusion of the study period, NPS has stated that any final changes will go through the NEPA process, when we will be fully engaged in the fight.

We will work with our NPS representative on influencing the study parameters, including asking that No Shows be tracked as a part of their stats (We are concerned that people will make reservations and then not show up, depriving someone else the opportunity to visit.)  In addition, we will work on getting periodic update reports, and perhaps work on  shortening the study from the current 3 years.

The NPS advised us that for the first year, people arriving without a reservation will be educated, but allowed to enter the area and not be cited. If you have any difficulties visiting the area, or if you have trouble getting a reservation, please email us at info@utahpla.com with the details.

Finally, even though we did not get the objective we wished on this plan, the importance of taking action by making public comments about topics that are of concern to you is extremely important. Blue Ribbon Coalition is a very important ally in our fight to retain access to our public lands. In the last year alone,  BRC has influenced 180 planning processes in 17 states, you are instrumental in that process with 7,500 comments from members to Land Managers.

Thank you for your support, let’s work together to Fight for Every Inch!

Waddy’s Corral is Ready for Parking

The tractor work is done and the fencing is going up. This huge project has been done on time for another busy summer on Sand Mountain. Desert Roads and Trails (DRATS) did an excellent job managing and fund raising for this project to eliminate the poor parking available near Sand Mountain OHV area. The area developed is over 5 acres and should handle at least 50 trucks and trailers for Side-by-Side unloading and will be the new air down spot for Jeepers.   Located next to the Water Tanks, this area was needed to replace the area between the two tanks for a third tank.

The following agencies and businesses donated funds to make the project a reality:

Hurricane City                    $150,000

State Parks OHV                $100,000

UPLA                                    $50,000

Washington County            $50,000

DRATS                                  $47,000

Utah 4Wheel Drive               $10,000

FMCA Jeep Club                    $5,000

Public Donations                    $4,000

Tri-State UTV                         $2,500

Dixie 4 Wheel Drive               $2,000

Mad Moose Rentals              $1,500

Tread Lightly                          $1,500

Thanks also goes to the many attendies to the Winter 4×4 Jamboree which was responsible for the much of the proceeds donated from returns from the event.. We should all be proud of the tremendous support from the local groups to undertake this large of a project and to the BLM for their continued support of our activities to improve the OHV site.

Help Save OHV Access to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

The National Park Service is considering a plan to limit OHV visitors to only 20 vehicles per day, including tour operators. Further, their plan requires visitors to obtain one of the permits via their reservation system, with only 6 spots available 120 days in advance, and the remaining 12 available 2 days before the visit.

You can read more about this on the Blue Ribbon Coalition/Share Trails website here, but I urge you to write your comments directly on the National Park Service website here. 

After you submit your comments, please copy and share them either at the bottom of this page or in our Facebook post so we can share them with Blue Ribbon Coalition.

Save Access to Kanab Area Trails like Hog Canyon, Peekaboo Canyon and Johnson Valley Petroglyphs

The Bureau of Land Management has opened scoping of the Travel Management Plan (TPM) for OHV trails in the Paunsaugunt Travel Management Area, which includes many popular trails in the Kanab area such as Hog Canyon and Peekaboo Canyon, as well as the petroglyphs in Johnson Canyon. The area is huge, encompassing everything East of Hwy 89A, South of Hwy 14, and to the Arizona border. It is bordered on the East by other Federal lands not a part of this study. The current TMP has 418 miles of OHV trails, and during the BLM’s internal scoping they identified 33 miles of routes that were overlooked in the 2008 inventory, and are being considered as additions to the OHV inventory, bringing the total to 451 miles of routes being reconsidered for designation. More details on the scoping project can be found here.

The current TMP was done in 2008, and must be reevaluated as a result of a 2017 settlement agreement between the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and BLM that stipulated the review of 13 TMPs across Utah. This TMP was one of SUWA’s main focuses of their court filing, and we can expect they will become heavily involved in fighting OHV use in this area. If you have not heard how SUWA and their cooperating agencies feel about OHV use, take a heavy dose of aspirin and visit their website.

The public scoping for this project will consider comments submitted by March 25, 2022. This is our best opportunity to influence the next stage of the process, so your public comments are urgently needed. There are several ways to submit comments, you can choose any of the following methods:

• By completing the form found here and emailing it to blm_ut_kn_mail@blm.gov
• By visiting the Scoping Map found here, clicking on a route (trail) and adding comments.
• By emailing blm_ut_kn_mail@blm.gov
• By Mail sent to: BLM Paria River District, Attn: Pansaugunt TMP, 669 S Hwy 89A, Kanab, UT 84741

So you want to help, but not sure what to say? Here’s some tips about effective comments for this stage of the process.

• The BLM must look at Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Impacts of any change. Direct impacts are those that are caused by the action and occur at the same time and place. Indirect impacts are caused by the action but occur later in time. An example would be that if routes are removed from the inventory, you would have a Direct Impact by immediately losing access to visit that resource, while indirect and cumulativeimpacts could be that remaining routes and resources will be burdened from the increased traffic on them, or that businesses or localities that cater to the OHV community would suffer. All of these are important and must be addressed as valid comments. Further, it is more effective rather than stating an opinion or belief, you ask the BLM to study the impact you have concerns about. For example:

“Please study the effects that could be caused by the closure of routes in this area on remaining resources in the area due to increased traffic or visitation”

“Please study the effects caused by the closure of Johnson Valley OHV routes on people with accessibility issues on visiting and learning about the beautiful petrographs in the area.”

“Please study the effects of closing some of the routes in the area on making quick, easy exits on other trails in the event of medical or other emergencies”

“Please study the impact on emergency access to areas by first responders such as Search and Rescue or Fire crews if trails are not maintained”

• Cite your personal experience with the area. Some possible topics you might include are who you are, how long you’ve been coming to visit, whether you bring your family or other people with you, the amount of money you spend in the community each year when visiting, what types of businesses you frequent (hotels, camping, restaurants, grocery stores, etc).
• If you have done trail maintenance work in the area, please indicate your personal experiences.
• If you have any accessibility issues which would prevent you from continuing to visit if OHV use were disallowed or limited

SUWA will undoubtedly be drumming up their efforts to close as many of these routes as possible. Your action in helping us thwart their attempt is vital, Take Action Today!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) invites the public to play an important role in helping the BLM identify where motorized transportation on public lands in eastern Utah will be allowed. Today, the BLM Vernal Field Office announced the beginning of a 30-day scoping period to inform the Book Cliffs Travel Management Plan as well as the dates for online open houses to learn more.

The Travel Management Plan will help the BLM to provide a public motorized transportation network to serve visitors and local communities while protecting natural resources. While the 2008 Vernal Resource Management Plan considered public motorized vehicle uses on a landscape scale, this plan focuses on managing individual routes. It will determine whether routes are open, limited, or closed for public motorized use on a route-by-route basis.

The Book Cliffs travel management area in eastern Utah covers approximately 813,446 acres in Uintah County, 5,518 acres in Grand County, and 1,906 miles of routes.

“We look forward to hearing from the public during the Book Cliffs Travel Management Plan scoping period,” said Vernal Field Manager Roger Bankert. “Information submitted at this stage will help inform the initial draft of the travel management plan and environmental assessment. The most helpful comments are specific in nature and provide new information.”
The BLM will host online open houses on Wednesday, June 23, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. MST, and Thursday, June 24, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. For more information, meeting access, log in details, and/or commenting online, please visit the BLM’s ePlanning website: http://go.usa.gov/xNKuZ. Relevant maps and materials are posted on ePlanning, including a map with the complete route inventory for the Book Cliffs travel management area. Please note, the includes routes being evaluated for potential inclusion in the Book Cliffs TMP. It does not imply that those roads are available for use under travel management decisions in the Vernal Resource Management Plan.

Comments will help the BLM to formulate issues and alternatives included in the travel management plan. Specific information on the use of route, resource impacts from an existing route, and/or new information about the area is especially useful at this stage in the planning process. The Travel Management Plan will address topics related to motorized travel, including recreation, cultural resources, wildlife and fisheries habitat, soils and water quality, and wilderness characteristics.
The BLM requests public input during a 30-day scoping period starting on June 8, 2021 and ending on July 8, 2021. Comments must be submitted on or postmarked by July 8, 2021, through the BLM’s ePlanning website, by email, or by mail. Please reference “Book Cliffs TMP” when submitting comments.

ePlanning: http://go.usa.gov/xNKuZ
Email: BLM_UT_VN_Comments@blm.gov
Mail: 170 South 500 East Vernal, UT 84078

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

People that use public lands in this area should review the documents on the ePlanning site, and write personal comments about specific reasons this area is important to you.

If you would like more about how to write relevant comments, please check out this resource. HOW_TO_WRITE_SCOPING_COMMENTS

Here is the scoping map that shows the current road inventory

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.