Editorial - Attack on ATV use continues

In November 2013, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball handed down a ruling with the potential to devastate regional tourism economies as well as the public’s ability to access federally administered land.

For the past two years, officials have been waiting to see what this ruling would ultimately mean.

Kimball’s ruling put a resource management plan designed for 2.1 million acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s Richfield office into question.

A memorandum decision and order issued by Kimball May 22 gives everyone a better indication of what his earlier ruling will ultimately mean.

Unsurprisingly, it will mean millions of dollars will have to be spent over the course of the next three years to study the effects of off-highway vehicle use on archaeological sites and other resources inside the BLM administered land.

Judge Kimball said in his ruling that just because the BLM is going to re-review these routes, doesn’t mean it will necessarily come to a different conclusion about whether they should remain open or not.

In all likelihood, some routes will be shut down, such as on the Henry Mountains, which the court implicitly ordered to be declared an area of critical environmental concern.

Once the court mandated three-year review period is over, the overall plan may or may not see significant change.
The only certainty is that no matter how much the plan changes due to this ruling, it will not be enough for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the plaintiffs of the original case.

SUWA’s suggestion to the court was to simply close all designated routes on the Richfield resource management plan while the review is conducted. While the court didn’t grant that request, it is very telling of SUWA’s ultimate goal.

SUWA will sue the BLM again and try to close down more trails. By using litigation, SUWA’s plans seem to be aimed at ultimately shutting down any use of public lands — off-highway vehicle use, mining, petroleum exploration or grazing.

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