News Release

EMERGENCY OHV CLOSURE IN THE
MOQUITH MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS STUDY AREA

July 7, 1998
In a move likely to invoke the ire of both OHV and wilds groups alike, the BLM will minimize access and close down a popular play area, but will not banish riders from the entire federal portion of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, a 3,500-acre sandscape consisting of two parts state park and one part BLM wilderness study area.

Under an emergency closure order, 14,140 acres of plateaus, canyons, and federal sand dunes which comprise most of the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area will be closed to vehicular travel with the exception of eight designated travel routes. About 800 acres of federal sand dunes are included in the closure order, with approximately 700 acres of sand dunes remaining open to OHV use.

Access to the open sand dunes portion of the wilderness study area will be limited to single entry routes from each of the three main roads that surround the salmon-colored dunes. Most significantly, a popular riding area adjacent to a small dry lake bed which has been used as a favorite OHV staging area will be closed except for a specific entry corridor providing access to the interior of the dunes. The perimeter of the dry lake bed will also be fenced, effectively limiting space for campers and other vehicles to about 50 units.

The new restrictions are effective immediately, however BLM rangers intend to start out with an educational approach while new signs and fencing are installed over the next several weeks. OHV use will be allowed to continue in part of the dunes because of a BLM determination that motorized use on open sand areas is not impairing wilderness values and therefore does not preclude Congress’ prerogative to designate the area as a federal wilderness area should they chose to do so. Under BLM interim management guidance for wilderness study areas, motorized cross-country travel over sand dunes is allowed as long as it does not result in wilderness impairment.

Both the non-impairment finding for a portion of the dunes and the recommendations to close other areas are the result of a study conducted by an interagency team of natural resource specialists formed to assess the efficacy of an earlier interim management strategy for the dunes. For the past two months, the team has reviewed case files, studied aerial photographs, and made several follow-up field visits to get first-hand perspective of the situation.

The team’s review was prompted by a recent ruling from a Department of Interior administrative law judge directing the BLM to determine whether or not implementation of the interim strategy was adequately protecting wilderness values within the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area. Ron Bolander, BLM Ecologist who headed the review team, compared OHV tracks on the shifting dunes to the lines found on a chalk board that are easily erased. "Once the winds sweep across the interior dunes and the dry lake bed, aesthetics are renewed," said Bolander. He also diagnosed the overall plant health of the dunes area as good. "Favorable climatic conditions over the past several years have actually increased the vegetation cover, including populations of the endangered Welsh’s milkweed," he said.

While impairment of wilderness suitability is not a problem in most of the BLM dune area, Bolander did not depict as rosy a picture for the sandy slopes and low-lying areas near the dry lake bed where vegetation is more prevalent. The area adjacent to the Yellowjacket Road which leads to the State of Utah’s Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park has suffered the effects of concentrated use, according to Bolander. "The number of trails near the dry lake bed has increased over the past several years. While I have no doubt that vegetation will reclaim the trails once rested, the OHV trails are unsightly and negatively effecting the naturalness required for a wilderness study area. Hence our emergency closure," he said.

Part of the area’s popularity is attributable to the small number of campsites and the lack of access to the dunes from the state park. The state park has only 27 camping units and no day use ORV staging areas along the single road that services the park. Parents with young children have also favored the dry lake bed because the surrounding low dunes provide a place for beginner riders to learn how to handle an all-terrain vehicle within earshot of camp.

While Bolander acknowledged that the new closures would take away this opportunity, he stressed that protection of the wilderness character of the area is the non-discretionary bottom-line. "Admittedly, we are walking a fine line, but that’s part and parcel of working for the BLM these days. We’re balancing the continuation of a long-standing use while at the same time maintaining Congress’ option to designate wilderness," he said.

Even so, he held no false expectation that this controversy would fade as easily as vehicle tracks in a windstorm. "The sharing of a dune system between a potential federal wilderness area and a state park, particularly when the only boundary is an imaginary line in the sand, presents no easy answers. We will do what is necessary to protect the wilderness study area, but I don’t see the controversy ending until Congress resolves the wilderness issue," he said.

ORV restrictions will remain in effect at least until a new management plan for the sand dunes is completed. That planning effort is in process and is expected to be completed by next April.

For further information about the ORV restrictions and maps of the area, contact BLM offices in either Kanab, 318 North First East (435)644-2672 or Salt Lake, 324 S. State St. (801)539-4001.

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