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Southern
Utah Wilderness Alliance * Natural Trails and Waters Coalition *
The Wildnerness Society PRESS RELEASE Congress calls on Bureau of Land Management to
Uphold the Law CONTACTS: Washington DC - Today, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and 10 House Appropriations Committee members wrote Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Kathleen Clarke urging the agency to fulfill its promise to conduct critical, on-the-ground planning for off-road vehicles. The letter came in reaction to information that the BLM is going to weaken off-road vehicle rules by allowing field staff to delay indefinitely the already late mapping of off-road vehicle routes. Mapping specific routes is a critical aspect of the BLM's duty to protect the land from dirt bike and other off-road vehicle abuse. Without maps, these machines roam unfettered across open country leaving behind scars, soil erosion, and polluted streams, and directly conflict with hikers, bicyclists, and other non-motorized recreationists. "We commend Representative Hinchey and his colleagues for raising concerns with the BLM's ridiculous proposal to delay protection for millions of acres of public land," said Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, attorney for The Wilderness Society. All-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, and other off-road vehicles are a major threat to the health and integrity of 264 million acres of BLM lands. According to the BLM, approximately 93 percent of BLM land in the lower 48 states is open to some form of off-road vehicle use. In part to deal with this threat, Congress has appropriated tens of millions of dollars for planning processes taking place throughout the West. "As Appropriators, we are disappointed with the possibility that funding provided to the BLM for resource management plans may not be spent wisely and in a manner that will address the very shortcomings in land use plans for which the funding was provided," wrote members of Congress. The BLM itself stated in a report to Congress that "[i]ntensified controversy over OHV [off-highway vehicle] use is inevitable unless the BLM can revise or amend existing [Resource Management Plans] to reflect changes in regulations and public expectations." "The BLM has acknowledged massive dirt bike and all-terrain vehicle damage on public lands from California to Utah," said Kristen Brengel, Campaign Manager of the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition. "Now is the time to get off-road vehicles on designated routes, not put off planning into the indefinite future." In their letter, the Appropriators urged the agency to "comply with the plain meaning of the law and pursue off-road vehicle road/route designations in the resource management planning process. The BLM should not amend the manual and handbook, or any other policies for that matter, to instruct land managers to defer road/route designations in a separate process." In Utah, ORV ownership has skyrocketed from 22,000 to over 100,000 vehicles since 1988. "The BLM is already ignoring its responsibility to protect the land -- including lands proposed for wilderness preservation -- from massive off-road vehicle abuse," said Heidi McIntosh, Conservation Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "If the agency doesn't get its act together by complying with the law and its promises to Congress, much of the west will be a spider web of tire tracks." Read a copy of the letter visit: http://www.house.gov/hinchey/ Read a copy of the BLM Fact Sheet
The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes conservation, recreation, hunting and other groups working to protect and restore public lands and waters from the severe abuse caused by all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, jet skis and all other off-road vehicles. www.naturaltrails.org. Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America's wilderness and wildlife and to develop a nationwide network of wild lands through public education, scientific analysis and advocacy. Our goal is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water, wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and renewal that pristine forests, rivers, deserts and mountains provide. www.wilderness.org The mission of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans. www.suwa.org
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