Ever wonder what a group of supposedly "adult" individuals sound like when they get together to whine about the "evils" of OHV's? The SUWA seems to contradict itself here with it's previous claims, and ongoing "photo project" about "roadless wilderness. Read on and be amazed

SUWA Action Alert

The BLM is close to releasing its off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel plan for the San Rafael Resource Area. This plan will designate which jeep and motorcycle trails will remain open in the San Rafael Swell and the west side of Labyrinth Canyon.

BLM started work on the San Rafael OHV travel plan several years ago. It convened a committee of local OHV users and representatives of environmental groups to try to come to agreement on which trails should be left open. Needless to say, there wasn't much agreement among members of the committee, so the BLM was left to make it's own determination in many cases. Committees such as this one inevitably give disproportionate representation to local interests (which in this case were in favor of leaving as many trails as possible open). The large majority of Americans, who don't want to see further erosion of what little undeveloped public land is left, were underrepresented. As a result, the draft BLM plan was skewed toward OHV interests.

Many of the trails under consideration in the plan are within H.R. 1500. (These are typically either recently created single-track motorcycle trails or rough and unmaintained jeep trails.) If the BLM designates these routes as open, that will make it all the more difficult to obtain wilderness protection for these areas. It will also encourage increased OHV use on spur trails and washes crossed by the designated trails.

The San Rafael Swell is already carved up by an extensive network of county-maintained roads. The last thing it needs is an even denser network of recreational jeep and motorcycle trails. The BLM should not further fragment what's left of the roadless areas in the Swell. In particular, it should not designate as open any trail within H.R. 1500.

We have learned that in recent weeks the draft OHV plan has become even worse. OHV interest groups appear to have persuaded area manager Richard Manus to overrule his staff and open even more trails within H.R. 1500. We need to let him know that the plan should be modified in the other direction -- the number of designated trails in proposed wilderness should be reduced or eliminated, not increased.

The BLM should not allow the San Rafael Swell's remaining wildlands to be further carved up by OHV trails. All trails within H.R. 1500 should be closed.

• Of particular concern are the Behind the Reef Road and the Devil's Racetrack. (These are two of the trails we think the BLM might cave in on.) The BLM should stick with their original plan and close these trails.
• BLM should not approve OHV routes which run primarily in washes. It should also close trails which provide access to washes where OHV abusehas occurred in the past.
• The San Rafael Swell already has an extensive network of legitimate roads maintained by Emery County. This road network provides more than adequate access to the Swell. We don't need to turn the Swell into an OHV playground.

The BLM plans to announce the final plan on September 15, but the real decisions will likely be made well before then. Please write as soon as possible.