Article: Alert: Utah / Moab Off-road Recreation Areas Under Threat of Closure

Land Rover off-road in Moab, Utah

Ok, this will only take you a minute, and everyone needs to take action, gotta save off-road trails in Utah.  

Check out the details below, and then click the link below to be taken to a quick form that will let you email your opposition to losing off-road access to your Congressperson.

From the AMA (American Motorcycle Association), but pertinent to all Land Rover lovers:

The Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a hearing on October 1 to consider H.R. 1925, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009. This legislation -- which will ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to public lands to those who live and recreate in Utah -- was introduced by New York Representative Maurice Hinchey. However, not a single Representative from Utah is supporting H.R. 1925.

Specifically, H.R. 1925 would designate more than nine million more acres as federally protected "Wilderness," and directly affect the Moab, San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock areas (to name a few) in Utah. These popular OHV areas represent some of the most important remaining OHV recreation areas in Utah, and are some of the most popular with responsible OHV riders. The proposed Wilderness designation would also make the land off limits to ATV riders, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Coming on the heels of the recently enacted Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which closed 2 million acres of public lands, this vast Wilderness bill will take away additional recreation opportunities currently enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike.

The AMA needs your help now to stop H.R. 1925. The fastest way to reach your U.S. Representative is to call them. You can find contact information for your elected officials by entering your zip code on AmericanMotorcyclist.com, clicking on "Rights," then "Issues and Legislation." Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your Representative immediately by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information. Please contact your Representative right away and urge them to oppose H.R. 1925."

You can get to the page to take action here: http://capwiz.com/amacycle/issues/alert/?alertid=14061961

My personal take on this: I have a degree in wildlife ecology. I do not work in the field, but I know quite a bit about conservation. And I think this is totally the wrong approach. Saving our natural heritage is of utmost importance, but if people do not have access so that they can personally see and experience nature, then they are not going to care about nature. Cutting off access is the last thing to do if you want to save wilderness, endangered species, etc. America's incredible wild lands need people to see them and play in them and drive in them, so that they care about them, and take action to protect them.

Our world really is too tiny and nature too fragmented and interrelated to believe we can just close an area (even of a large size) off and believe that will protect it. Example: acid rain originating from one area can kill a forest hundreds of miles away.

All people need access, not just the folks who are hardcore backpackers and can hike 50 miles into a wilderness area to see it. People in our modern age are more and more separated from nature, holed up in their cities - their urban jungles - and we need to be doing everything possible to increase responsible access to natural areas - not decrease it. The wild lands cannot protect themselves - they need people who care and fight for them. But the people advocating just closing them off are being short-sighted. We need ATV lovers, and motorcycle lovers, and Land Rover lovers most of all out there recreating in those wild lands, because they represent the same people who will work to save those wilderness areas from other threats much more dire than any caused by off-road vehicle use. We do need to tread lightly, but that is a lot different from not treading at all.

What is your take?  Join our discussion about off-road vehicle wilderness access issues.