The Labyrinth Canyon/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan has created a lot of uncertainty. If you’d like to understand what’s happened and where we stand in Moab with the BLM’s decision to close 317 miles of trails, read on.

On September 28, Nicollee Gaddis-Wyatt, BLM Canyon Country District Manager, signed the Decision Record for the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan (TMP) This Decision caused the closure of 317.2 miles of trails, or 28% of all trails previously open to motorized OHV. Additionally, another 98.4 miles of trails were limited closures, mostly pertaining to the type of motorized OHV on the trail, i.e. ATVs, E Bikes, mountain bikes, etc. This resulted in the closure of most of the major trails west of Moab including Day Canyon Point, Hey Joe Canyon, Mashed Potatoes, Ten Mile Canyon, Hell Roaring Canyon, Mineral Canyon, Hidden Canyon, 7-Up, and 2 of the 3 overlooks on Deadman Point. Additionally, the closures also includes many spur routes and 120 dispersed campsites being closed, which struck a hard  blow to overlanders in the area and primitive campers. In addition, the plan is suggesting that additional areas be considered being managed as areas with “wilderness characteristics.” This designation will open the door to additional closures and restrictions.

This is on top of the 2008 Recreation Management Plan, which although it closed a whopping 766 miles of roads, specifically identified many of these roads as having an overriding purpose and designated them to be kept open.

The changes and closures were to become effective after the end of a 30 day appeal period.

On October 30, BlueRibbon Coalition, Patrick McKay, and Colorado Offroad Trail Defenders filed an Administrative Appeal with a Petition for Stay. This granted a window where the TMP would not go into effect until the US Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals (DOI IBLA) issued their decision, meaning that trails remained open. The State of Utah, Colorado Trail Preservation Alliance, Ride with Respect and the Offroad Business Association also filed timely appeals which are not discussed here.

On November 27, Administrative Judge Kevin Haugrud denied the Petition for Stay, meaning that the TMP was back in effect and that the 317 miles of closures are CLOSED.  Although the Petition for Stay was rejected, the IBLA has still not issued their decision on the Appeal.

The denial of the Stay will allow a lawsuit to be filed in Federal Court along with injunctive relief that may restore access to the trails, BlueRibbon and the Plaintiffs are assessing their options.

In Summary:

• The 317 miles of roads listed in the Travel Management Plan are CLOSED, and UPLA strongly encourages that all users obey the closure orders and don’t drive on the closed roads. Here’s a great map of the closed trails.
• The Appeal is still pending. You can read BlueRibbon’s appeal here.
• Read about the 5 Actions that BlueRibbon is taking, and learn how you can take action.
• Support Utah Public Lands Alliance by donating to our campaign for BlueRibbon’s Legal Defense Fund. UPLA already contributed $69,672 to the BlueRibbon Coalition Legal Defense Fund, and will match dollar for dollar approximately the next $15,000 in donations. You can donate here online, or if you prefer to write a check, designate in the memo line “Legal Defense Fund” and mail it to:

Utah Public Lands Alliance
PO Box 833
St George, UT 84770

Be Informed and Stay Engaged!

Together, We Will Win,

But We Can’t Do It Without You!

St. George, UT — December 5, 2023

Utah Public Lands Alliance (UPLA) is pleased to announce a significant donation of $70,000 to the BlueRibbon Coalition for their Legal Defense Fund. This generous contribution is a testament to UPLA’s unwavering commitment to preserving public lands’ accessibility for all Americans. The presentation of the donation will take place during the Utah Public Lands Alliance’s Board Meeting on December 7, 2023, at 6:00 PM. The event will be hosted at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive, located at 73 N 900 E, St. George, UT 84770.

Loren Campbell, President of Utah Public Lands Alliance, and Ben Burr, Executive Director of BlueRibbon Coalition, will be present at the event to commemorate this important occasion. The $70,000 donation is made possible through the UPLA’s initiative to match up to $50,000 in donations from a broad coalition of supporters across the United States. This collective effort highlights the shared commitment to preserving the accessibility and integrity of public lands for current and future generations.

Campbell expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “Preserving our public lands for responsible recreational use and ensuring accessibility is a shared responsibility. We are proud to support BlueRibbon Coalition in their efforts to defend these lands legally. The overwhelming response from supporters across the nation demonstrates the collective strength of our community in safeguarding our natural heritage.”

Ben Burr, Executive Director of BlueRibbon Coalition, added, “We are grateful for the Utah Public Lands Alliance’s dedication to the cause. This donation is one of the largest single donation ever received by BlueRibbon and will help us in our legal fight to continue advocating for the responsible use of public lands. The support from UPLA and their broad coalition of donors is instrumental in our efforts to protect these lands for everyone.”

The presentation event will provide an opportunity for both organizations to express their gratitude to supporters and showcase the importance of collaboration in preserving public lands. Ben Burr will be available to update attendees on the Moab closures and provide a chance to learn more about the initiatives undertaken by UPLA and BlueRibbon Coalition to protect the nation’s cherished natural resources.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Loren Campbell, President@UtahPLA.com, 909-499-3295

About Utah Public Lands Alliance: Utah Public Lands Alliance is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and advocating for responsible access and use of public lands in Utah and surrounding areas. UPLA works to protect the cultural, recreational, and economic value of public lands for current and future generations.

About BlueRibbon Coalition: BlueRibbon Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving public lands for responsible recreational use. The organization focuses on advocacy, litigation, and education to ensure that public lands remain accessible for a wide range of recreational activities.

You can donate to the campaign here

By Loren Campbell, President Utah Public Lands Alliance            November 2, 2023

We have been in a fight for access rights for all in Moab for a very long time, and that battle has heated up a lot in the last year as the result of a 2017 Settlement Agreement between the Department of the Interior and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to settle a lawsuit from 2008.

In September, BLM announced their decision to close access to 317 miles of some of the most popular roads and trails in the world in Labyrinth Canyon Gemini Bridges, just north of Moab, 28% of the road network. Also affected by the decision is the closing of almost 120 dispersed camping sites located along the closed roads.

On Monday October 30, an appeal was filed by BlueRibbon Coalition, CO Offroad Trail Defenders. And Patrick McKay. Matt Miller is the senior and lead attorney at the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who filed the appeal with almost 1800 pages of exhibits, hand delivered in boxes to the BLM Moab Field Office.  Mr. Miller said “Every American shares in the ownership of public lands, which exist for the responsible enjoyment of anyone who wants to recreate on them. BLM is trying to move use of these lands from the rights-based system that has endured for decades to a permission based system that allows bureaucrats to close these lands to serve their policy preferences.” To read the full Notice of Appeal, click here.

The State of Utah, the United Four Wheel Drive Association, and a few others also filed appeals.

The Interior Board of Land Appeals has 45 days to respond to the appeal and request for stay, during which time the closures will not go into effect, thus trails will remain OPEN!

Utah Public Lands Alliance has pledged to match the first $50,000 in donations dollar for dollar for BlueRibbon Coalition’s Legal Defense Fund when the donation is made through this link. UPLA is also looking for companies or individuals that will extend the match beyond the first $50,000. In addition, every donor will also be able to claim BRC’s Highly Acclaimed Lost Trails Guidebook Volume 2. Your financial support is essential to winning this fight, please give whatever you can. If your organization would like to learn more about increasing the match, please contact me.

Watch an excellent and comprehensive video by Marcus from CORE that explains where we are and how we get here, including a candid assessment of the BLM decision, the political bias involved at both the local and Federal level, and most importantly why we need to support BlueRibbon Coalition financially. This is a turning point in our fight against the ever increasing federal overreach of their statutory authority, and if we don’t fight to win now, every decision going forward should be expected to have the same consequences.

Visit BlueRibbon Coalition for a map of the most popular trails closed by the Plan and more information. We also encourage you to become a Member of BRC

Access the ArcGIS Map done by Patrick McKay from Colorado Trail Defenders by Clicking here

Our freedom to roam is under assault from a plan to close everything off and make us ask permission before we enjoy it.

There is a plan underway to close the great open spaces of the American West to you, me, our children, and our children’s children. The federal government — which owns most of this land — is determined to move from a “use and let use” system of accessing Western public lands to a permission-based system that will mean reservations, permits, and closures.

Just last month, the Bureau of Land Management issued a final decision to close 317 miles of historic and popular off-road trails near Moab, Utah. For decades, these trails — which are mostly old uranium mining roads — have been enjoyed by everyone from Jeep owners to dirt bike riders to base jumpers looking for a place to land. They have evocative names like Gemini Bridges, Mashed Potatoes, and Dead Cow Trail. They appear in guidebooks. Some of them are even featured in the hugely popular Easter Jeep Safari.

The plan is already being implemented, and it threatens the freedom enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans who hike, camp, Jeep, mountain bike, ATV, fish, swim, canoe, kayak, trail run, overland, base jump, raft, and backpack the millions of acres of free space that make “the West” the West.

I have enjoyed our public lands my entire life. There is nothing like a sip of coffee as you watch the first rays of dawn begin to break on the red rocks. You don’t realize how tough your kids are until they shrug off a chilly 15-degree night in a sleeping bag. And you don’t really appreciate how unfathomably vast the West is until you spend three days exploring the backcountry without seeing another human soul.

All of these experiences — and many others — take place on public lands. There is no entrance fee. There is no permit required. You just lace up your hiking boots, or jump in your pickup, or hop on your mountain bike, and you go. Simple as that. So long you don’t litter or destroy or cause a ruckus, you are left to your own devices. It is something that unites Americans of every class, creed, color, and political persuasion.

That feeling of expansive freedom speaks to everyone who steps outside to enjoy and explore America’s public lands. It feels like our birthright to enjoy them and, for hundreds of years now, it has been just that.

But now, that freedom to roam is under assault from a plan to close everything off and make you ask permission before you enjoy it. If nothing is done to stop it, one of the last, great, unifying forces in American public and private life will be fundamentally transformed and left unrecognizable before most people realize what is happening.

Zooming out, the aggressive rate of federal trail closures is part of the larger “30×30” plan that President Joe Biden announced shortly after taking office. The alleged intention is to “conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters and 30% of U.S. ocean areas by 2030.”

There is no evidence that users of these trails have been damaging them. Indeed, people cherish these lands. Go drive the trails and you will rarely encounter even a single piece of trash. That is why they have been in use for decades with no appreciable degradation.

Nevertheless, the federal government is now implementing a plan to close hundreds of miles of cherished trails. And that is why the BlueRibbon Coalition — the nation’s premier group dedicated to preserving motorized access to wilderness — has joined with the Colorado Offroad Trail Defenders to challenge the plan in court. They are represented by my organization, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

What the Biden administration’s plan really means is an aggressive plan to close those lands to use by the public. Well, not to the entire public — crunchy backpackers and hikers are still beloved by the left. But the executive decision will limit access for the “wrong” kind of outdoorsy people — people who drive Jeeps and Toyotas and ride ATVs and dirt bikes, and who look like they might be having a good time without suffering under a heavy backpack.

This seems to be a great paradox to those who do not understand why people love overlanding, dispersed camping, dirt biking, ATV riding, and off-roading, but it is no mystery to those of us who actually engage in these activities. We love the wilderness, too. We love taking our children, friends, and family out there and enjoying fresh air and magnificent scenery. If we come across someone else’s trash, we pick it up. If we see someone breaking the rules (by, say, driving off-trail), we reprimand them.

There are very, very few law enforcement personnel on these lands enforcing the rules. Instead, the motorized travel community self-enforces an ethic of respect for public lands. We teach it to our children. That is why these trails remain so attractive as a place to recreate.

The Moab closures are a bellwether case for protecting access to public lands. The closures represent a provocative challenge to an entire way of life for millions of people in the West. If the Biden administration can close these lands, it can close them anywhere. Americans have shown themselves to be responsible stewards of their public lands, and they deserve to be able to enjoy them — freely — for generations to come.

By Matt Miller, Texas Public Policy Foundation     November 2, 2023

Blue Routes Open, Red Closed, All Other Colors Restricted

It’s very difficult to comprehend the extent of the adverse actions against OHV access to our public lands. This interactive ArcGIS map of the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges is layered so you can compare the closed routes to lands with wilderness characteristics and bighorn sheep lambing habitat to see that’s where the vast majority of the closures are. There’s also a layer showing SUWA’s Red Rock Wilderness proposal which also includes the areas with the most closures.

This map is the courtesy of Patrick McKay with CO Offroad Trail Defenders Virtual Crew, who has done immense work in trying to protect our access.

Labyrinth Rims Decision (arcgis.com)

If you’re fed up, take action by donating to Utah Public Lands Alliance. Up to the first $50,000, every donation will be matched dollar for dollar and the entire amount given to BlueRibbon Coalition for supercharging our fight. That would big a war chest of $100,000 to get them started!

It is with a heavy heart that we bring you the distressing news from Moab today—a destination cherished by many for its rugged trails and breathtaking landscapes. A staggering 317 miles of roads, including iconic trails like Hey Joe Canyon, Ten Mile Wash, and Hell Roaring Canyon, are facing closure by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM-FOREVER). This alarming trend is not isolated to Moab; it’s spreading across various regions, threatening the very essence of not only off-highway vehicle (OHV) activities, but everyone that uses motorized vehicles to get to the areas they enjoy recreating, including equestrians, rock climbers, backpackers, and virtually everyone that wants to get into the backcountry by vehicles before setting off on to enjoy their next adventure.

The recent decisions related to the BLM Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments expansion, Middle Gila in Arizona, Rock Springs Resource Management Plan in Wyoming, Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest in Idaho, and Table Mesa in Arizona have further fueled concerns. These decisions are adversely affecting not only the off-road community but also devastating snowmobiling and other OHV activities in places like the Manti LaSal National Forest.

In times like these, being merely mad is not enough. We must unite and fight back to stem the tide of these continuous losses. Understanding the urgency of the situation, the Utah Public Lands Alliance (UPLA) has taken a stand and selected the BlueRibbon Coalition to lead this crucial fight. BlueRibbon has been fighting for our access for over 30 years, and we now want to supercharge their ability to lead this fight.

Now, we’re reaching out to you, the backbone of the off-road community, not just for comments or letters, but for your financial support. We need funds to mount a legal battle against these closures, and we’re asking your organization to stand with us in this critical moment.

UPLA is spearheading a fundraising campaign to benefit BlueRibbon Coalition defense efforts. We are so committed to this effort to save our future, UPLA is matching the first $50,000 in donations dollar for dollar, meaning your donation’s value will be doubled. In addition, we are seeking other clubs, businesses, and organizations to join this effort to extend the match beyond the first $50,000

Together We Can Win, But We Can’t Do It Without You.

Your support is not just a donation; it’s an investment in the future of off-road adventures.

to save the trails we love, protect our rights to explore, and ensure that future generations can experience the thrill of off-road adventures.

Thank You!

Loren Campbell

president@utahpla.com