From the Moab Newspaper: SUWA's Redrock News Update
Redrock News
by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
We Are Not Trying to Shut Down ORVs
Last week’s Letters
From The People included
one from Moab 4-wheeler
Tony Foster. In it he states:
“The SUWA’s agenda is to
shut down land use to all
motorized vehicles.”
Actually, nothing could
be further from the truth.
We appreciate Mr.
Foster’s obvious love of
the backcountry, and his
willingness to participate
in public debate. But on this
point, he is dead wrong.
For proof, just look
to our proposal for the
current Moab Jeep Safari
permit renewal. SUWA’s
proposal leaves 92% of
the proposed Jeep Safari
route miles available for
jeeps and other off-road
vehicles to enjoy. And that
does not count the many
miles of routes that would
be included in the permit
if SUWA’s suggestion for
re-routing around a few
isolated trouble spots
were implemented. If
those suggestions were
implemented, the total
miles of permitted routes
would be even closer
to 100% of Red Rock 4-
Wheelers’ proposal.
In what way does such a
fair and balanced proposal
reflect an agenda “to
shut down land use to all
motorized vehicles?” Mr.
Foster is simply echoing
the propaganda of extreme
right-wing partisans of
industry-funded off-road
organizations. Lately, those
groups seem to be running
scared at the thought that
they might be forced to
concede even one inch of
ground to the rest of the
public land users and the
general American public.
When one side in
a debate offers to
accommodate 92% or
more of the other side’s
request, most reasonable
folks would consider that
to be an extremely fair and
balanced attempt to come
to an agreement. Only off-
roaders dead set against
any kind of compromise
would try to twist such
a reasonable offer into
something that “locks
off-roaders out of public
lands.” What? 92% isn’t
enough for ORVers? Do
they want it all?
Another example is
SUWA’s proposal for the
Moab and Monticello
Resource Management
Plan that covers Grand
and San Juan Counties.
SUWA’s proposal would
leave the vast majority
of the BLM land open
to motorized travel via
an extensive network of
designated routes. But
don’t take our word for
it, look at the recreation
maps of the proposal at:
www.redrockheritage.org/
maps/. Alternatively, we
will happily mail you a copy.
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Call 259-4399, or email us
at
information@suwa.org
and give us your address.
Need another example?
On a state level, total
BLM lands in Utah
comprise 23 million acres.
The America’s Redrock
Wilderness Bill now
before Congress calls for
less than 10 million acres
to be given protected
status. That leaves 57%
— 13 million acres — free
for motorized travel, in
addition to the thousands
of miles of routes that
form the boundaries to
these proposed wilderness
areas. How can that be
construed as trying to rid
the public lands of off-road
vehicles?
If you saw two kids
squabbling over some pie,
and one was demanding
100% of the pie while the
other was asking for 43%,
which would you think was
being fair and reasonable?
Mr. Foster’s statement
is unfortunate and very
misleading.
SUWA does not want
to rid the public lands of
off-road vehicles. There’s
plenty of room in Southern
Utah for all of us. It simply
requires the willingness
of both sides to look at
the greater good, and to
seek opportunities for
agreement, rather than
twisting the other side’s
position to suit a political
agenda.
