A new off-highway vehicle management plan for a northern section of the La Sal Mountains breaks new ground for the state School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), its local resource specialist, Brian Torgerson said Tuesday during a presentation to the Grand County Council.
“We haven’t undertaken something like this before. This is a crown jewel,” Torgerson said. He called the plan “a big deal” because, he said, it restricts vehicles to “designated” routes instead of “existing” routes. Torgerson said he expects the “Off Highway Vehicle Travel Management Plan for the North Block of the La Sal Mountains” to be a template for other SITLA block holdings.
A “block” in SITLA holdings is an area of more than 5,000 contiguous acres of trust lands. The La Sals’ north block that is covered by the new plan contains about 29 square miles (18,560 acres), almost entirely in Grand County. SITLA manages that property for the benefit of Utah State University, Torgerson said.
The plan designates 67.2 miles of roads for vehicle use. All of those roads are open to ATVs, according to Torgerson. County roads comprise 26 miles and 10 miles are open to ATVs only. Four-wheel-drive vehicles can travel on the county roads plus 31.2 miles of “two track” roads.
The SITLA plan closes 15 miles of existing two-track and 0.6 miles of existing ATV road, according to a map provided to the council by Torgerson.
Several information kiosks will be placed where designated roads enter the north block from U.S. Forest Service land and other SITLA properties, according to Chris Fausett, another SITLA resource specialist who also spoke at the July 6 meeting.
Closed roads will be reclaimed so that users will not have any excuse, such as missing signs, to continue using them, Fausett said.
Grand County Council member Gene Ciarus noted that a large portion of roads slated to be closed are old logging roads located east of Taylor Creek that have “been in use for a long time.”
“Barriers don’t work. I think [closing them] will be our biggest challenge,” said Adam Robison, SITLA’s area forester. Robison said the closure “is good for wildlife,” and he assured the council that he “will do a fair amount of monitoring myself,” to assure the roads are not re-opened by users.
Rangers with the state Division of Parks and Recreation will help patrol the area, Robison said.
Road mileage in the area has increased by 35 to 40 percent since the Grand County Road Department conducted a survey in the mid-1990s, Torgerson said.
Roads can enhance land value, but having too many roads creates liability and resource damage issues, said Kim Christy, SITLA’s director of surface lands.
“We believe we have a win-win situation,” Christy said after praising the assistance of Ciarus and former council member Jerry McNeely. Christy noted that the state’s surcharge on OHV registration provides the funds needed for travel management.
In addition to county, federal and state agencies, the Red Rock 4-Wheelers, Moab Friends 4-Wheelin’, Ride With Respect, grazing permittees and adjoining landowners also participated in the planning process, Torgerson said.
Read more: Moab Times-Independent - SITLA unveils plan to improve management of vehicle use in the La Sals
