Recreational off-highway vehicle use has become tremendously popular – and challenging – from a land use management perspective throughout the west on all public lands.

The combined effect of population increases in the west, explosive growth in the use of off-highway vehicles, and advances in technology have generated increased social conflicts and resource impacts on the public lands related to motorized recreation and the impact on other recreation activities and resource uses.  Here in Utah, there were approximately 50,000 registered off-highway vehicles in 1998.  By 2007, there were more than 183,000 registered, representing a 300 percent increase over the last 10 years.  

The BLM’s goal for travel management is to develop, with its cooperators and public input, a travel plan providing access to resources and resource areas.  The goals and objectives of these travel plans include appropriate recreation opportunities that, at the same time, protect public land resources; consider public safety; minimize conflicts among the various public land uses; and provide support for the local economy.  These goals apply to all areas of travel management including resource access.

By improving trail and off-highway vehicle management through the land use planning process, the BLM aims to minimize impacts to wildlife habitat; reduce introduction and spread of invasive weeds; lessen conflicts among various motorized and non-motorized recreation users; and prevent damage to cultural resources resulting from expanding roads and trails on public lands.

Executive Orders issued by the President require that BLM off-highway vehicle regulations form a framework for the agency to establish management areas as either “open,” “limited,” or “closed” to off-road vehicle use.  "Open" areas are areas where all types of vehicle use is permitted anywhere in the area.  "Limited" areas are areas where vehicle use is limited to designated routes.  “Closed” areas are those which are closed to all types of vehicle use and include wilderness and wilderness study areas. 

Under current management plans, the majority of public lands are open to cross country travel.  Increases in population and off-highway vehicle use make this impractical, so now the majority of off-highway vehicle travel on BLM lands will be limited to designated routes.

In the Kanab proposed resource management plan, roughly 1,000 acres would be open to cross-country travel, 528,000 acres would be limited to designated routes and 25,000 acres would be closed to vehicular travel.  The proposed plan would designate 1,403 miles of off-highway vehicle routes for motorized use. 

Moving toward a rational system of a designated network of roads and trails through planning, will protect – rather than inhibit – recreational access to the public lands.  In the long run, these plans will provide the management foundation to prevent unnecessary closures or restrictions stemming from preventable resource damage or user conflicts.

Harry Barber
Bureau of Land Management
Kanab Field Office Manager