Significant progress has been made toward preserving access to BLM and SITLA lands in the Virgin area. We have held two productive meetings with the Town of Virgin, the Washington County Attorney, and the PLPCO Assistant Attorney General for Washington County to explore viable paths forward.

As a reminder, there are two separate access rights-of-way in this area: the historic RS 2477 route and a prescriptive easement crossing Lot 10 of the Zion’s Edge subdivision. While there are valid legal claims supporting both routes, all parties generally agree that maintaining reliable access through at least one of these corridors would be sufficient.

Having multiple options improves the likelihood of preserving access, but it also adds complexity, as each potential solution affects different property owners in different ways. To allow time to work toward a voluntary and mutually acceptable resolution, we have agreed with the Town of Virgin to temporarily delay our appeal hearing.

In the meantime, all “No Trespassing” signs have been removed, and access—both motorized and non-motorized—is currently open and allowed.

Magazine Article January 2026

UPLA submitted comments on BLM’s plan to close all the free dispersed camping near the SR9, and supplement camping by building developed camping and improving some designated camping on the South Side of the Virgin River. Another part of their plan is to close some areas near Gooseberry Mesa for restoration, and build a developed campground there.

UPLA looked at the plan, and is concerned about efforts that will end Free, dispersed camping in both area. You can read our comments here

Public comments close on December 24, so if this concerns you, please go to the BLM EPlanning website for details and to submit your comments.

UPLA now has the most extensive collection of GPX tracks throughout Utah and surrounding areas. It’s hard to count, but it’s safe to say we literally have thousands of route tracks within Utah from many different sources. Recent additions to our collection include:

• Arapeen
• Bears Ears
• Bear Lake-Northern Utah/Idaho
• Canyonlands/Maze
• Great Western Trail-AZ, UT, WY, ID
• Hanksville/Torrey
• Paiute OHV Trails including Fremont and Pausaugant
• Vernal
• 360 Google Street View Trails that show you video of the trails

These tracks are available to Members by visiting Trail Maps – Utah Public Lands Alliance. If you’re not a Member yet, there’s a link to choose and activate a membership right away.

BLM’s reopening of the devastating Labyrinth Rims/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan is a monumental opportunity, but our success will depend on our ability to submit massive numbers of public comments to BLM on the Action. We know it’s tedious to ask, but we’ve all been asking for this, and we must act to ensure our success on future plans.

Here’s What You Should Do:

• Go to this BLM Interactive Map to see which routes they have proposed reopening. When you get on the map, the Green lines mark the routes BLM proposed for  reopening. The Pink indicates routes they are proposing to open seasonally. Black lines indicate single track routes they are proposing to open to 50” width or less. If you need to see more detail on the map, click on the 4 squares at the upper right and pick a different basemap for more details on the map. When you click on a line, it will give you additional information about the trail.
• Optional: Research UPLA Files to help identify routes and give you more information on them. We have added some of the most requested information for you to see as follows:
  • Click Here if you’d like to see a list of the BLM Route Numbers with Common Names for the Trails
  • Click Here if you’d like to see rationale from the 2023 Decision Record including common names, and highlighting the routes that BLM designated for reconsideration
  • Click Here if you’d like to look up the Route Report for a specific route number. These can be very useful, as the last pages (Alternative D in green) show the conditions BLM identified that the route could be opened. These can be mentioned in your comments
  • Click Here if you’d like to read the 2023 Final EA. You probably won’t need this unless you’re just curious about a detail.
• Draft your detailed comments about trails you are familiar with. Include personal experiences, how you’ve used it, how often, who you’ve been there with; in other words, why it’s important that it be reopened. Use as much of the factual information from one of the sources as you can.
• Submit your Comments using any of three ways
  • A. If you feel comfortable submitting them directly to BLM, you can do so at the BLM EPlanning Website  Use the Participate Now button there, you can type comments in, or upload a word or pdf document, and can attach photos if you have them.
    OR
  • B. If you want help formatting your comments, Email your draft to our Comments Coach. Rose will help you format them so they are ready to submit, and will return it to you to submit to BLM. Rose is also working on UPLA’s formal comments, so to get a response you must send them no later than Sunday, October 19. You will then need to submit them to BLM or through BlueRibbon Coalition’s Action Tool.
  • OR
  • C. Submit the comments using BlueRibbon Coalition’s Action Tool. This method will submit comments directly to BLM, but will also provide them to BlueRibbon Coalition so they know hear directly from you. This method will not allow you to attach items.

Q&A

• If you want to comment on a route that is not in the reconsideration list, can you? Yes, go ahead and submit comments on any closed trail you would like reconsidered.
• When must comments be received by BLM? October 24, 2025
• Where is the announcement from BLM? BLM Announcement
• How did this come about? This action has been the result of many different organizations and individuals that filed lawsuits for  reconsideration, among them BlueRibbon Coalition, the State of Utah, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Colorado Offroad Trail Defenders, Ride with Respect, and everyone that has filed comments or made donations to support their efforts.
• What trails are being reconsidered? Nearly 50% of the 2023 closures are being reconsidered, including popular routes like Hey Joe Canyon, Deadman Point, Dead Cow Loop, Day Canyon Point, Hell Roaring Canyon, Mineral Canyon, several key Green River overlooks, and many other backcountry access routes. Click Here for a Complete List
• Are the routes open now? No, they are not reopened at this point, the existing Travel Management Plan will remain in effect until a final decision is made.
• Will these all be reopened? That depends a lot on you, we need your comments to make this happen.
• What about other Travel Plans that resulted in closures like San Rafael Swell and Henry Mountains? Trust us that we’re continuing to work on those, but don’t let this opportunity pass us by.

Submit Your Comments On Every Route You Know About

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