Sierra Club wanting to limit Moab OHV use

Just got this email and thought I'd post it. This is something that may end up being a big issue for the continuation of OHV use around Moab. I have been to the area and would hate to see the wonderful opportunities afforded on LEGAL trails be lost due to efforts of those who have no idea of what we really do and are like.

Robert

SIERRA CLUB Glen Canyon Group-- Southeastern and south-central Utah in the
heart of the Red Rock country.

<http://utah.sierraclub.org/glencanyon/orv.htm>

OFF-ROAD VEHICLE Committee

The Off-Road Vehicle Committee is a group of people concerned about the
impact of ORVs on public lands. We believe that, through ORVs' booming
popularity, irresponsible operation, and physical and audible impact on the
land and all other users, they are undermining the mandate of the BLM and
USFS to manage our land in a sustainable way, for the benefit of all. The
ORV committee exists to counter this threat by encouraging and helping
federal, state, and local agencies in fostering an ethic of responsible ORV
use, and drafting and enforcing regulations which prohibit damaging ORV use.
Our planned actions for the upcoming year are:
· To monitor the development of federal and state strategies to mitigate ORV
impacts, and when appropriate, to encourage public comment on such.

·To substantially reduce the impacts of the Moab Jeep Safari by:

o Making sure that the BLM complies with NEPA standards for re-permitting
the event, by completing an Environmental Assessment.

o Reducing the number of participants, official and not, to sustainable
levels.

o Getting adequate BLM staff in the field to enforce and educate about
allowable limits to ORV use.

o Rerouting or eliminating Jeep Safari trails which go through riparian
areas, proposed wilderness areas, and other sensitive places.

· To participate actively in the BLM Grand Resource Area's redo of its'
travel plan, to ensure that:

o Areas and routes are to be closed unless designated as open.

o Routes where damage is occurring outside the road corridor that cannot be
contained, mitigated, monitored and enforced should be closed and reclaimed.
Routes suffering irreversible degradation, eroding substantially, negatively
impacting riparian ecosystems, or adversely affecting riparian, Threatened,
Endangered or Sensitive species should be closed until these impacts can be
avoided. Routes that are redundant should be closed

o Open ORV play areas should only be created with full public involvement,
in areas where the above impacts can be avoided.

o Trails should be located to minimize environmental harm, user conflicts,
and minimize opportunities for cross-country vandalism and expansion. Trails
and parking lots should be planned, not accidentally and forever expanding.

o ORV users should be expected to compensate the public for their inordinate
impact on the commons through trail maintenance and rehabilitation projects
and "minimum impact" education. If we must all pay for their
disproportionate impacts, then they should be severely restricted.

o The trail network should account for non-motorized users, with particular
attention paid near Moab. For the sake of young, elderly, physically
challenged, and casual non-motorized recreationists, who do not want an
extreme or lengthy adventure every time they take a walk, not all trails
providing easy access should be motorized.

o These changes are implemented on the ground.

The OHV committee is open to anyone who shares our concerns about ORVs. For
more information, please contact: Kalen Jones @ 259-8618, or Kevin Walker @
259-7540.