OFF-ROADERS MAY GAIN ACCESS TO 2 MILLION ACRES IN UTAH

Nearly 2.1 million acres of land in central Utah would be open to off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and energy development under a proposed resource management plan issued by the federal government. The land is controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Richfield office and located in Sanpete, Sevier, Wayne, Piute, Garfield and Kane Counties. Among other actions, the plan would permit substantially increased OHV use in the Factory Butte badlands area, which has been subject to restricted access due to concerns about endangered plants. 

The BLM is in the process of issuing six separate land-use plans that will determine how 11 million acres of agency-controlled Utah lands are managed over the next 10–15 years. Plans covering the Moab and Kanab regions have already been drafted, while plans for Monticello, Price and Vernal are still being prepared. All plans are subject to public comment.

Land access is an important issue to SEMA since many members produce equipment for the off-road community. SEMA supports rational land-management decisions that provide balanced protection with opportunities for quality recreation experiences. Click here to view the Richfield resource management plan.

For additional information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.