Recapture Utah! Broads Revs
Up to Stop ATV Abuse
by Ronni Egan

Cribbing/fill constructed along the cliff face of the Recapture Wash route allows new ATV access where it was previously impassable.

In the fall of 2006, Great Old Broads was contacted by Lynell Schalk, a retired Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Special Agent, now residing in Bluff, Utah, regarding a number of illegally constructed ATV routes on BLM land in San Juan County, Utah. She had been observing and recording these illegal activities on her own since early 2006, and contacted Broads for assistance with the egregious situation because of our Broads Healthy Lands Project (BHLP) off-road vehicle monitoring program.

Broads staff traveled to Utah, hiked into Recapture Wash and other places, and, using the monitoring methods of BHLP, recorded evidence of unauthorized route construction (cut trees, bladed trails, culverts, bridges, rock cribbing, stiles over fences, etc.). Of particular concern was a route built into Recapture Wash that now provides direct motorized access from Blanding, Utah. Recapture Wash contains over 30 recently documented archaeological sites. Prior to the construction of this route, vehicular access was very difficult, but it is now easily accessed by ATVs, and the route runs through and near numerous archaeological sites. Another area of concern is the recent construction on the San Juan Hill portion of the historic Mormon Hole-In-The-Rock Trail, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Despite attempts by the public to get accurate information on what is occurring, the BLM, in numerous instances, has given incomplete and less than accurate information, has attempted to “cover up” and legitimize these illegal activities, and is receiving considerable pressure from San Juan County and SPEAR (San Juan Public Entry and Access Rights), the local ATV organization, to acquiesce to their demands. Needless to say, Broads is disturbed at the renegade nature of these activities on public lands. We are working in partnership with SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance), which is providing legal assistance and grassroots organizing expertise, to stop illegal activity on these lands. A new local group, the Canyon Country Heritage Association, has recently formed in Bluff in response to these and other issues concerning our public lands and is applying pressure on San Juan County and the BLM as well.

Recapture Wash—two years ago there was no trail or route here, only a steep slope.

While the actual builders of the routes are supposedly unknown, SPEAR, which has installed route signs and done trail related maintenance legally as BLM volunteers, has also been observed by the BLM doing illegal trail work. The Monticello Field Office of the BLM has been all too eager to accommodate SPEAR and the San Juan County Commission, to the point that it intends to give permanent rights-of-way to San Juan County for these ATV routes.

SPEAR and San Juan County also intend to build and/or connect hundreds of miles of routes in a county-wide “Canyon Rims Trail System” using county “mapped and claimed” roads that have not been adjudicated. Many of these proposed ATV routes would be in areas now closed by the BLM to motorized use or in Wilderness Study Areas, and this whole county is fragile high desert, and subject to extreme damage from poorly managed motorized use. The county arguably contains the highest density of archaeological sites in Utah, if not in the country, and the number one threat to this resource is the increased motorized access, which is precisely what this system would provide.

The Monticello BLM is in the process of revising its Resource Management Plan and is supposed to complete a Travel Plan. Rather than fulfill its past promises to defer ATV route decisions to the travel planning process, the BLM is considering requests one by one from San Juan County for “connector” trail rights-of-way. This type of decision-making could bypass the National Environmental Planning Act (NEPA) requirements for considering cumulative impacts of proposed actions. The BLM will not (or cannot) provide the interested public with maps of the routes that are being connected. There also is complete disregard for federal law, departmental policy, the agency’s own land use plans and the public review process. There is failure to abide by requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Archaeological Protection Act (ARPA), the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In late April, Broads is planning a Recapture Utah! Monitoring Event to train volunteer monitors and gather baseline data on the route construction and proposed routes. We will gather important information and help engage local citizens in the effort to hold their public officials accountable for appropriate and legal land management. The resulting information will be used to support legal and procedural challenges to the BLM and to raise public awareness of the imminent threats to this special place. While everyone has the right to access our public lands, no one has the right to damage irreplaceable resources or to take actions that violate established laws and regulations.

Call or write your Congressional representatives and ask them to hold the BLM accountable in Utah. Ask them to also co-sponsor America’s Redrock Wilderness Act.

Recapture Utah! Monitoring Event
Date: April 25-30, 2007
Location: near Blanding, UT
Cost: $50 (space is limited to 24 participants)
Broads want to Recapture Utah, (or at least parts of it!) for quiet users and the critters. Come help gather data to support our efforts to document ORV use/abuse while enjoying some great hiking. We'll base camp on Cedar Mesa near spectacular Arch Canyon and small teams will hike daily in assigned areas while documenting impacts from motorized recreation. This part of Utah is home to the San Juan River, Grand Gulch Primitive Area, Comb Ridge, the Abajos Mountains, Indian Creek, Canyonlands, numerous Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) and archeological sites.

Participants will be trained to use a GPS, digital camera and the Broads Healthy Lands Project monitoring form to collect information. GPS units and digital cameras will be provided for those who need them. We plan on four full days of monitoring. A camp cook will prepare breakfasts and dinners so we can focus on being in the field. Evenings will include informative speakers from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the newly formed Canyon Country Heritage Association. Folks can plan to come early to explore the area or plan to stay and play afterwards. There are not many places to camp and hike finer than southern Utah in the springtime!

Click here to register for this event.