BLM greenlights Easter Jeep Safari
Backcountry driving: Activists say the popular, long-standing event harms sensitive lands near Moab
By Lisa J. Church
Special to The Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
MOAB -The Bureau of Land Management has renewed a Moab off-road club's permit to hold the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Grand and San Juan counties.
The decision met with harsh words from environmentalists who contend the federal agency did not do enough to protect sensitive lands from damage by off-highway vehicles.
Now in its 40th season, the Jeep Safari annually draws more than 1,500 participants from around Utah and the nation. But the nine-day event also coincides with spring break for many college and high school students who flock to Moab for backcountry recreation, including off-highway driving.
In recent years, county officials have estimated that as many as 10,000 OHV enthusiasts who were not associated with the Jeep Safari have crowded into town and onto the area's backcountry trails throughout the week.
This volume has caused law-enforcement headaches. And environmental groups have long complained that the event attracts thousands of "renegade" off-highway users who do not follow the rules. Some property owners also complain.
A San Juan couple have battled in court for two years to close a section of the Strike Ravine trail that passes through their property. A judge has ruled the Red Rock 4-Wheelers can continue to use the trail - at least temporarily - and this week the case appeared headed for appeal after the judge declined to vacate his decision.
Dan Kent, director of Red Rock Forests, called the BLM Monticello Field Office's decision to permit a guided trip into Arch Canyon during Jeep Safari "a sham." A perennial stream running through the canyon is home to native fish and makes it unique to southeastern Utah, Kent said.
Two years ago, Arch Canyon was awash in controversy when a San Juan County commissioner and the San Juan sheriff led a group of off-road vehicles down the eight-mile trail after the BLM denied a permit to an off-road event.
Ber Knight, public-information officer for the Red Rock 4-Wheelers, said a one-day trip into Arch Canyon will not cause notable damage to the area.
About 2,000 people submitted written comments on the BLM's environmental assessment for the event's 33 proposed routes covering about 670 miles of backcountry roads in southeastern Utah.
The BLM has included some major changes aimed at reducing vehicular damage to sensitive lands, according to Katie Stevens, an outdoor-recreation planner for the Moab BLM Field Office.
For example, the BLM altered routes in Onion Creek and Bartlett Wash to keep vehicles out of streambeds. The agency also granted requests from the Red Rock 4-Wheelers to limit specific trails to one-way travel only on days the group will be using the trails.
And the BLM agreed to give the group "exclusive" rights to use a handful of trails on specific days, Stevens said.
Liz Thomas, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) hopes the changes will be effective.
"Exclusive use and one-way travel on trails will have to help. But who's going to enforce that?" she said. "I'd like to be optimistic. The analysis has probably fallen short, but we'll just have to see what happens."
lchurch@citlink.net
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3435165
