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Vroom Report The State of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) Across America April 9, 2003: In This Issue: Legislation Introduced to Prevent Public Land Give-away Legislation Introduced to Prevent Public Land Give-away - U.S. Representative Mark Udall (CO) introduced legislation last week designed to make it more difficult for local governments and the off-road vehicle industry to abuse a Civil War-era mining law (known as RS 2477) to build highways across National Parks, Forests and Monuments. The bill (HR 1639) follows issuance earlier this year of the so-called "disclaimer rule" by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This rule would allow BLM to give away public land for highways without providing standards to define a "highway" or affording the public a genuine opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Representative Udall's bill would provide standards that define a highway and place the burden of proof on the entity making an RS 2477 claim to demonstrate such standards and other requirements have been consistently met. It establishes deadlines for submitting claims and taking actions to maintain possession of a right-of-way if a claim is determined to be valid. Bureau of Land Management Preparing to Duck Off-road Vehicle Decisions - The Bureau of Land Management is preparing to issue a directive to its field offices that will undermine existing requirements to designate dirt bike, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and other off-road vehicle routes during on-going planning processes. The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, along with our member organizations, obtained an internal review draft of the directive. The directive, known as an "Instruction Memorandum," could allow BLM field offices to delay off-road vehicle route designations into the indefinite future. The BLM has recognized the critical need to designate specific routes for off-road vehicle use to prevent damage to public lands. Yet, the directive demonstrates unwillingness to begin addressing off-road vehicle impacts on the ground. The following letter from The Wilderness Society and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance addresses the legal requirement to perform off-road vehicle route designation as an integral part of the more comprehensive resource management planning process. April 3, 2003 Rebecca Watson Kathleen Clarke Re: Bureau of Land Management's Imminent Instruction Memo Erroneously Advising BLM State Directors that Off-Road Vehicle Trail Designations are Optional for Resource Management Plans. Dear Ms. Watson and Ms. Clarke: As you know, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and The Wilderness Society are regional and national conservation organizations whose members are deeply concerned about the preservation of pristine public lands, particularly in Utah. One of the most significant threats to the sound management and protection of public lands is the proliferation of off-road vehicles (ORV) such as dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs. Since 1988, ownership of these machines has risen dramatically from about 20,000 to well over 100,000 in Utah alone. At the same time, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) failure to manage this growing use by, among other things, designating trails, has left widespread damage. Accordingly, we write to voice our strong objection to what we
understand is the imminent release of an Instruction Memorandum
that will advise BLM managers that field office level ORV trail
designations - which, with one exception, have never occurred in
Utah - are optional elements of BLM's resource management plans.
We have obtained an internal review draft of the document, which
raises serious questions about the BLM's commitment to reversing
years of neglect of ORV damage to some of our most scenic public
landscapes. The IM's new approach would abruptly reverse course
on BLM's commitments to us, and to the U.S. District Court for the
District of Utah, and perpetuate widespread ORV damage to some of
the most scenic landscapes in the country. Background Rampant use of these machines, with a concomitant failure of the BLM to designate trails, minimize impacts and analyze the environmental impacts of their use - all in violation of federal law and regulation - has resulted in widespread damage to Utah's wildlands including wilderness study areas, areas proposed for wilderness in America's Redrock Wilderness Act, riparian areas, and critical wildlife habitat. We have documented soil erosion, loss of native vegetation, water pollution, noise, conflicts with non-motorized visitors to scenic areas and other impacts of unregulated ORV use. The BLM has acknowledged that one of the primary factors contributing to ORV damage is the agency's failure to designate trails for ORV use. Without trail designations, maps and signs, ORV users do not know where it is appropriate to ride, and BLM personnel find it impossible to enforce reasonable limitations on ORV use. Trail designations are, simply put, the cornerstone to the BLM's ability to manage this use. Legal Mandates Require the BLM to Designate ORV Trails in RMPs. Trail designations are such an obvious and integral part of ORV management that executive orders dating to the 1970s, as well as BLM's own regulations, require that they be completed as part of the BLM's resource management planning process. See 43 C.F.R. Section 8342.2 ("The designation and redesignation of trails is accomplished through the resources management planning process"), Executive Order 11644. Nevertheless, the Utah BLM has inexplicably failed to designate trails in its RMPs, and only this year completed the very first of its so-called travel plans identifying specific ORV trails in an area known as the San Rafael Swell. The BLM completed the San Rafael plan, in one of the most popular riding areas in the state, over ten years late and only under pressure of litigation. The BLM's failure to designate trails is one of the focal points of the ongoing legal challenge to the Utah BLM's mismanagement of ORVs. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Babbitt , 2:99CV 852 K (D. Utah, filed 1999), dismissal rev'd., 301 F.3d 1217 (10th Cir. 2002). In that case, the BLM submitted the sworn affidavit of Douglas M. Koza, then BLM Utah's Deputy State Director, which stated: "Much of the problem with OHV use management is a lack of straightforward and easily understandable information, available to land users, on where such use is allowed and appropriate." Koza affidavit, attached, at paragraph 10. The BLM submitted Mr. Koza's affidavit in an attempt to persuade
the court that it was taking steps to remedy its management failures.
"Since at least since the fall of 1997, BLM Utah has been increasingly
aware of the growth of OHV use and attendant increasing adverse
environmental impacts and directed management attention to the problems."
Koza affidavit, para. 14. Importantly, part of the referenced "management
attention" included the management of ORV use in the "land
use plan process." Id. at 17. The Koza affidavit also included a BLM Instruction Memorandum dated
June 19, 2000 which indicates that the BLM will designate trails
in the RMPs, and "includes a list of specific actions that
BLM will be taking over the next few years to improve our management
of OHV use." Id. at page 2. As part of those promises, the
IM references a document entitled "An Interim Management Approach
to Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Use on Public Lands in Utah."
It explicitly represents to the court, and to the public, that:
"The document sets a long-term statewide goal to utilize the
land use planning process at the Field Office level, with extensive
public involvement, to designate roads, trails and trail systems
as well as managed open areas for OHV use." Reversing course at this point also appears to constitute, in essence,
a revision of the trail designation regulation without public notice
and comment. It is also particularly ill-advised given that over
half of the BLM lands in Utah are now, or will shortly be, undergoing
revision of their RMPs. Indeed, part of the BLM's argument to the
court in SUWA v. BLM was that trail designations were imminent as
part of the RMP process, and that it was therefore, not failing
to take actions required by law. Now is the time to move forward
on these long-delayed trail designations and halt the spread of
ORV damage before it worsens. Conclusion A decision by the BLM not to designate trails in RMPs contravenes
the law, reverses specific promises made to the court and to us,
and leaves in place an illegal system in which ORV use would continue
virtually unchecked on Utah's wildlands. It has been thirty years
since President Nixon signed the first executive order directing
the BLM to designate trails; there can be no justification for further
delay. We urge you to reconsider your decision to implement this
ill-conceived and illegal Instruction Memorandum. Heidi McIntosh Pam Eaton Cc: Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to the President National Park Service Issues Key Jet Ski Rule for Lake Mead - The National Park Service issued a final rule today authorizing continued jet ski use in most of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Lake Mead is the first National Park Service unit to complete a rule allowing jet ski use in its waters. The final rule only designates 5 percent of the lake as jet ski-free. The Park Service explains that, "[v]isitors seeking this environment can visit these areas with some expectation of slower speeds and quieter boat operation." These small areas will continue to allow boat use while prohibiting jet skis. In September 2000, the General Accounting Office surveyed federal land management agencies, including the Park Service, and concluded that, "[i]n total nationwide, personal watercraft and snowmobile users were less than 2 percent of the total visitors to federal units." Jet skis have poor safety records and make up a small percentage of Americans who enjoy federal public lands. However, under this rule, these machines will have full reign over this National Park Service unit. In addition, the Park Service fails to restrict antiquated, two-stroke engines from lake waters for ten years. Army Corps Mulls Permit for Big Cypress Swamp Buggy Routes - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently determining whether or not to grant the National Park Service a special permit to construct nearly 200 miles of routes for swamp buggies and other off-road vehicles throughout Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. The Clean Water Act requires permits for actions that would alter wetlands and/or add fill to the waters of the United States. The Corps' preliminary decision, subject to public comment through April 11, concludes that a comprehensive assessment of the potential environmental impacts will not be required in order to issue a permit. The scope of the project and the range of possible consequences to the Preserve, endangered wildlife and the larger Everglades ecosystem demonstrate that additional analysis must be performed. The Park Service proposes to construct a network of routes throughout the Preserve using crushed rock, other fill and engineered fabrics. Based on the cursory analysis performed to date, neither the Service nor the Corps understand how these routes and the activities associated with constructing them could affect water flow leading to the Everglades or endangered wildlife, including the Florida panther. The range of unanswered questions demands a thorough assessment of the potential impacts prior to issuing a permit. Read the Corps' public notice concerning this permit. For additional information, contact: Scott Kovarovics The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes conservation, recreation and other groups working to protect and restore all public lands and waters from the severe damage caused by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, jet skis and all other off-road vehicles.
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