**ANOTHER UPDATE** - SAMI
From : <AlertList@suwa.org>
Sent : Thursday, June 9, 2005 9:03 AM
To : AlertList@suwa.org
Subject : TAKE ACTION - MOAB JEEP SAFARI
| | | Inbox
TAKE ACTION!! MOAB JEEP SAFARI PERMIT RENEWAL UNDER REVIEW
The Moab BLM office is currently analyzing the Moab Jeep Safari permit renewal application. The Moab Jeep Safari is generally considered the "granddaddy" of all jeep, ATV and other ORV events in Utah. This event draws thousands of jeepers, and highly-modified truck and rock crawler enthusiasts to the world-famous redrock canyons surrounding Moab where machines are driven up rock ledges and domes, through crystal clear creeks, across sensitive soil crusts, and over just about any natural obstacle that looks challenging.
The Moab Jeep Safari has contributed significantly to the motor-sport mania that has erupted in southern Utah over the past 10-15 years. Although the sponsors of the event claim that the "official" participants are not doing much of the damage that occurs on public lands during this 9-day event, the fact that there are thousands of "unofficial" participants that converge on the Moab area during the event cannot be seen as mere coincidence. There is no doubt that the Jeep Safari event is responsible for drawing the jeeps and rock crawlers to the area, and there can be little argument that damages to the public lands, some of which are proposed for wilderness designation, are a result of the event - either directly or indirectly.
This permit was last renewed in 2001. The number of jeeps, trucks and rock crawlers that come to test their machines against natural obstacles (i.e. fantastic geology and scenic landscapes) has increased since that time. BLM now has a chance to do the right thing and take a hard look at the impacts - direct, indirect, and cumulative - of this event, and analyze other alternatives to the proposed routes.
PLEASE! Take a moment and email, FAX, or mail a short comment letter to BLM voicing your concern of the natural resource impacts and associated conflicts with other public land users that Jeep Safari imposes. Suggested comments include:
1- BLM must analyze the environmental effects of this event (including the impacts of the thousands of "unofficial" participants that tag along during the 9-day event) in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, rather than a superficial, less comprehensive Environmental Assessment. The Jeep Safari has significant long-term impacts on the world-famous redrock canyonlands in the Moab area, including canyon streams, critical wildlife habitat, and sensitive soil crusts, as well as creating conflicts with other public land users. In addition, the Jeep Safari creates precedent for other such events in the Moab area and around southern Utah in general.
2- BLM must consider a range of alternatives in its environmental review, including an alternative that would preclude Jeep Safari routes within areas in America's Redrock Wilderness Act including:
*Goldbar Rim, (the proposed route traverses a dramatic rim directly across the road from Arches National Park, which is one of the most outstanding and scenic hikes near Moab. Use of this route generates considerable conflict with non-motorized recreationists)
*Labyrinth Canyon and Duma Point (routes are proposed adjacent to the Green River, as well as in washes and mesas above the river)
*Dome Plateau (proposed routes are user-created and weave across mesas and through canyons north of Arches National Park)
* Behind the Rocks (the proposed route travels over a vegetated sand dune area that has been steadily denuded of plant life due to illegally pioneered routes during past JS events)
*Arch Canyon (on cultural resource-rich Cedar Mesa, this route involves 59 creek crossings during a one-way trip up the canyon)
*Nokai Dome (this proposed route cuts through canyons and over mesas in the proposed wilderness area adjacent to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area).
This alternative is a fair and reasonable alternative, and would result in approximately 92% of the proposed routes being approved and only 8% of the proposed routes being omitted from the permit.
3- BLM must not approve a 5-year permit for this event, as the Moab BLM is in the midst of revising its long-term resource management plan, and a 5-year Jeep Safari permit would preclude BLM from seriously considering route designation alternatives in the long-term plan that would conflict with the 5-year permit.
Please send your comments to the Moab BLM office by Friday, June 10, or soon thereafter. Apologies for the short notice, and THANK YOU!!
Email: maggie_wyatt@blm.gov
FAX: 435.259.2106
Mail: Maggie Wyatt, Manager, Moab BLM Field Office, 82 East Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532
To unsubscribe, change your address, etc.: http://www.suwa.org/AlertList/settings.html
From : <AlertList@suwa.org>
Sent : Thursday, June 9, 2005 9:03 AM
To : AlertList@suwa.org
Subject : TAKE ACTION - MOAB JEEP SAFARI
| | | Inbox
TAKE ACTION!! MOAB JEEP SAFARI PERMIT RENEWAL UNDER REVIEW
The Moab BLM office is currently analyzing the Moab Jeep Safari permit renewal application. The Moab Jeep Safari is generally considered the "granddaddy" of all jeep, ATV and other ORV events in Utah. This event draws thousands of jeepers, and highly-modified truck and rock crawler enthusiasts to the world-famous redrock canyons surrounding Moab where machines are driven up rock ledges and domes, through crystal clear creeks, across sensitive soil crusts, and over just about any natural obstacle that looks challenging.
The Moab Jeep Safari has contributed significantly to the motor-sport mania that has erupted in southern Utah over the past 10-15 years. Although the sponsors of the event claim that the "official" participants are not doing much of the damage that occurs on public lands during this 9-day event, the fact that there are thousands of "unofficial" participants that converge on the Moab area during the event cannot be seen as mere coincidence. There is no doubt that the Jeep Safari event is responsible for drawing the jeeps and rock crawlers to the area, and there can be little argument that damages to the public lands, some of which are proposed for wilderness designation, are a result of the event - either directly or indirectly.
This permit was last renewed in 2001. The number of jeeps, trucks and rock crawlers that come to test their machines against natural obstacles (i.e. fantastic geology and scenic landscapes) has increased since that time. BLM now has a chance to do the right thing and take a hard look at the impacts - direct, indirect, and cumulative - of this event, and analyze other alternatives to the proposed routes.
PLEASE! Take a moment and email, FAX, or mail a short comment letter to BLM voicing your concern of the natural resource impacts and associated conflicts with other public land users that Jeep Safari imposes. Suggested comments include:
1- BLM must analyze the environmental effects of this event (including the impacts of the thousands of "unofficial" participants that tag along during the 9-day event) in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, rather than a superficial, less comprehensive Environmental Assessment. The Jeep Safari has significant long-term impacts on the world-famous redrock canyonlands in the Moab area, including canyon streams, critical wildlife habitat, and sensitive soil crusts, as well as creating conflicts with other public land users. In addition, the Jeep Safari creates precedent for other such events in the Moab area and around southern Utah in general.
2- BLM must consider a range of alternatives in its environmental review, including an alternative that would preclude Jeep Safari routes within areas in America's Redrock Wilderness Act including:
*Goldbar Rim, (the proposed route traverses a dramatic rim directly across the road from Arches National Park, which is one of the most outstanding and scenic hikes near Moab. Use of this route generates considerable conflict with non-motorized recreationists)
*Labyrinth Canyon and Duma Point (routes are proposed adjacent to the Green River, as well as in washes and mesas above the river)
*Dome Plateau (proposed routes are user-created and weave across mesas and through canyons north of Arches National Park)
* Behind the Rocks (the proposed route travels over a vegetated sand dune area that has been steadily denuded of plant life due to illegally pioneered routes during past JS events)
*Arch Canyon (on cultural resource-rich Cedar Mesa, this route involves 59 creek crossings during a one-way trip up the canyon)
*Nokai Dome (this proposed route cuts through canyons and over mesas in the proposed wilderness area adjacent to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area).
This alternative is a fair and reasonable alternative, and would result in approximately 92% of the proposed routes being approved and only 8% of the proposed routes being omitted from the permit.
3- BLM must not approve a 5-year permit for this event, as the Moab BLM is in the midst of revising its long-term resource management plan, and a 5-year Jeep Safari permit would preclude BLM from seriously considering route designation alternatives in the long-term plan that would conflict with the 5-year permit.
Please send your comments to the Moab BLM office by Friday, June 10, or soon thereafter. Apologies for the short notice, and THANK YOU!!
Email: maggie_wyatt@blm.gov
FAX: 435.259.2106
Mail: Maggie Wyatt, Manager, Moab BLM Field Office, 82 East Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532
To unsubscribe, change your address, etc.: http://www.suwa.org/AlertList/settings.html
