BlueRibbon Coalition Weekly Newsletter – Issue 65

Weekly Newsletter Issue 65 | Apr 6, 2024​ ​ ​ The San Rafael Swindle: 7 Things We've Learned 5 Years After Passage of Dingell Act​ ​ Recently, anti-access wilderness groups celebrated the five year anniversary of the passage of the Dingell Act. This law was passed by Congress and signed into law on March 12, 2019. In Utah this law is often referred to as the the Emery County Wilderness Bill that designated 663,000 acres of Wilderness in Utah in the area of the San Rafael Swell and along the Green River. BlueRibbon Coalition has been actively participating in the implementation of this act since it was passed, and the motorized recreation community was heavily involved in trying to prevent the law from being passed because of the serious restrictions on access that would come from the designation of 663,000 acres of Wilderness. With the release of the proposed travel management alternatives for the San Rafael Swell, we are not surprised to see that the Bureau of Land Management is proposing substantial restrictions on public access to this area on top of the nearly 700,000 acres of wilderness that was already created. Many of us were worried that the Dingell Act was filled with empty promises and hollow, unenforceable protections, and now we are learning that those who negotiated the Dingell Act have a lot of explaining to do. Here are seven lessons we’ve learned from the failure of the Emery County portion of the Dingell Act to live up to its promises of protecting public lands for public access: ​ Buffer Zone Prohibitions Don’t Appear to Mean Anything to the BLM​ Cherry stemmed roads are a tool to create wilderness​ Historical Cold War site protections are being ignored​ It was unbalanced to create 663,000 acres designated Wilderness and only 217,000 acres of special recreation management area (SRMA)​ The Dingell Act should have Cherry-stemmed or designated as open every inch of RS2477 routes and all routes that access State Trust Lands​ Wild and Scenic River Designations were a failure​ Dingell Act management does bleed over to other counties​ We explored each of these points in more depth in a recent article on our website. With a comment period likely to open in the coming weeks for the San Rafael Swell, we need everyone to become educated about the history of this area. Read the Full Briefing: https://www.sharetrails.org/the-san-rafael-swindle-7-things-we-have-learned-5-years-after-the-passage-of-the-dingell-act/ ~Team BRC p.s. be sure to check out the new San Rafael Swell Map that UPLA has put together to help us identify route impacts in the upcoming plan. ​ Action Alerts​ ​ 1. DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 15 - Grandview Travel Management Plan: 65% of routes at risk ​ ​ The Owyhee region of southwestern Idaho is accepting public comment for their final travel management plan of the area. The Grandview travel area hosts 1,365 miles of open OHV routes year round along with one backcountry airstrip. These routes give way to numerous permitted motorcycle races throughout the year. The planning area encompasses 251,000 acres, and because it’s only a 90 minute drive from Boise, it is a popular area for all kinds of OHV interests. It is one of the best single track riding areas in southern Idaho. Of all the areas we've reviewed in the Owyhee region in the recent months, this is the area with the most proposed closures. The proposals don't seem to reflect the way that users are recreating on the landscape. If this is an area you visit, we need you to add your feedback. Please submit a comment below to the BLM in order to make your voice heard. The link includes more briefing materials and links to the BLM's interactive map. If you have additional insight to this area, include that at the beginning of the comment. Comments will be accepted until April 15, 2024. ​ TAKE ACTION​ ​ ​ 2. Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project in Nevada​ ​ The Bureau of Land Management in Clark County, Nevada has released the draft plan and environmental impact statement for the Rough Hat Solar Project. Public comments are being accepted on the proposal through April 11, 2024. This is one of many proposals we are seeing throughout the western United States. This specific project is located in the Pahrump Valley, next to the established Copper Rays solar farm. There is a massive push to develop solar farms on public lands. In 2012 the BLM created the Western Solar Plan to identify Solar Energy Zones (SEZ) that were best suited for solar farms in which these types of projects would be prioritized. The BLM is currently in another public comment phase to update the Western Solar Plan to include more areas acceptable for solar farms and available for a streamlined permitting process. The Rough Hat Solar Project however is not within an SEZ. BLM should only be allowing solar farms within SEZ’s while there is currently available land for those types of projects. Solar projects, if approved should not be developed in areas that are currently used for other uses. Solar use should not be prioritized over all other uses. Recreation does occur within the 2,433 acres of the proposal and around the project area. The project is expected to close these acres of land for approximately 30 years. ​ TAKE ACTION​ ​ ​ 3. Bears Ears Draft Resource Management Plan Released for Public Comment​ ​ ​ ​ Located in the rural corner of Southeastern Utah, the Bears Ears National Monument has been a point of controversy for nearly a decade. In 2016 President Obama initially used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate 1.3 million acres as a national monument completely bypassing Congress and abusing the Antiquities Act which gives presidents the authority to protect the smallest area of land possible. When the monument was created it required the BLM to create a resource management plan (RMP) to dictate the management of the monument. A year later, President Trump reduced the monument’s boundaries, it required a new resource management plan. In 2021, President Biden re-expanded the monument, in fact making it even larger the the original boundaries triggering yet again the process for a new resource management plan. The Bureau of Land Management in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service have released the proposed alternatives for the public to submit comments and feedback on for the next 90 days until June 11, 2024. Alternative A is the current management objectives, goals and restrictions. Alternative B-E give the proposals the agencies are considering moving forward with the management of this massive area. ​ TAKE ACTION​ ​ ​ 4. Help Us Oppose the Dolores River Canyon National Monument​ ​ Along the Dolores River in Southern Colorado families camp, raft and recreate. We have recently seen a surge in social media posts promoting the creation of a national monument out of the Dolores River Canyon. Surprisingly, these posts suggest that the motivation for the advocates supporting the monument is because they used to camp along the river when younger with their families. National monument designations usually lead to the kinds of restrictions on recreation use that we see in wilderness areas or national parks. As such, it is highly unlikely that there will be any primitive dispersed camping allowed in a Dolores River Canyon National Monument. To the extent that any camping will be allowed at all, it will be in restrictive developed campgrounds that require a reservation, and they won’t be anywhere near the riparian corridor of the river itself. It is because of restrictions like this that we are opposing the creation of giant national monuments through the abuse of the Antiquities Act in federal court court. We continue to oppose the creation of national monuments throughout the west including the Dolores River Canyon National Monument. ​ TAKE ACTION​ ​ ​ ​ Lost Trails Guidebook Sponsor Highlight​ ​ We want to give a big shoutout to Best Off-Road for sponsoring our Volume 2 guidebook. Their help means a lot in giving off-road fans everywhere some awesome info. And a huge thanks for supporting and coordinating our latest sweepstakes, the Build Your Dream Rig Giveaway. Their support makes the whole thing even more exciting for everyone involved. We're extremely grateful for their support and for being part of the off-road community with us. ​ ​ ORDER YOUR COPY HERE​ ​ ​ ​ NEWSLETTER CLUB AND ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT​ ​ The BlueRibbon Coalition is excited to announce that the following organizations have recently either donated to our Moab Fight or joined as organization members: The Pilgrimage Overland Mountain West Van Social We love to see all these businesses and organizations joining the fight! We know that we couldn't do what we do without the support of these organizations. If your business or club isn't on this list: Business/Organization Members, contact us today. As passionate recreation enthusiasts, these clubs and businesses understand the importance of fighting for and protecting our public lands and trails for future generations to enjoy. By renewing their support, they are helping to ensure that the BlueRibbon Coalition can advocate for responsible access to our public lands. We are grateful for their ongoing commitment to our mission and look forward to working together to keep the trails open and accessible for all. ​ ​

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