Why some environmentalists are upset over BLM’s San Rafael road plan

Mike Vanderhoof crosses the plains while riding from the Sid’s Mountain Wilderness Study Area back to camp in the San Rafael Swell Friday, April 1, 2011, in the San Rafael Swell in Central Utah. | Tom Smart, Deseret News

Groups assert it turns region into off road ‘playground’

SALT LAKE CITY — Critics of a draft travel plan proposed by the Bureau of Land Management say it will do irreparable harm to the San Rafael region should it be enacted because it more than doubles the amount of miles open to off-highway vehicle use.

Released Friday, the plan proposes to turn the San Rafael area into a “playground” for off-road enthusiasts, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and The Wilderness Society assert.

“The BLM’s draft travel plan is short-sighted and wholly fails to account for the diverse array of public land resources and user groups,” said Laura Peterson, staff attorney at Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “Rather than capitalize on an opportunity to develop a reasonable, manageable and forward-thinking travel plan that ensures public access while preserving the backcountry and minimizing damage, the BLM’s plan does exactly the opposite.”

But Ray Peterson, Emery County’s public administrator, said the plan is the result of a four-year process in which the federal agency reviewed the inventoried routes methodically.

“Emery County is happy with this process. Recognizing there is no such thing as a bulletproof process, this is as good as it gets. It was thorough, meticulous and exhaustive,” Peterson said.

He added that these are not new routes, but existing trails.

“There were a lot more that were nondesignated that the BLM chose not to re-designate,” Peterson said.

The land with the trails makes up about 300,000 acres, he said, adding “it is a big chunk of country.”

But the groups say federal law requires BLM to minimize impacts to natural and cultural resources when designating motorized vehicle routes, and the agency failed to consider impacts like damage to soils, the watershed, vegetation, wildlife habitat and cultural sites.

Additionally, they assert the BLM didn’t consider how the proposed routes would present conflict with other land users.

Soren Jespersen, senior field representative at The Wilderness Society, called the plan one-sided.

“This isn’t travel management, it’s a travel free-for-all, and it’s not what visitors to the San Rafael Desert come to experience,” Jespersen said.

Peterson said the BLM has worked cooperatively for years with multiple groups to come up with the plan, including the governor’s office, the school trust lands administration, recreation interests, conservation organizations and others.

The plan is open for public comment for 30 days.

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