BLM Closes Motorized access West of Moab

[tony]

Hatfield & McCoy trail system here in West Virginia.
All the towns love and welcome the off road crowd.

 

[Sam Colt]

 

[UpSideDown]

This sucks. I participated in, and then sponsored a group for several years in Moab until Covid stopped the event. We had a truly upstanding group of people and we didn’t cause problems, and I can say they genuinely. Very well managed and run. I’d stay a week after the weeklong event and just explore.

The SXS’s destroy Moab and other OHV areas. Driven by people without skill, without the care of a vehicle that needs to be driven home. That has its positive benefits for sure, but SXS groups are the most impatient, blatant damages of the trails and the off-trail closed areas in the Moab region. Some of the Jeep and Bronco clubs suck but the SXS groups are trash.

Closing trails to vehicles essentially omits their use by probably 98%+ of those who would go. The human powered use of things is a fraction of motorized out there, and the access difficulty during the hot and cold seasons means those areas are now almost not going to be used much of the year.

 

[duckhuntr]

Good. Close all off road vehicle access to anything thats not a maintained road. If you want to rip around, destroy habitat and get drunk, do that on private property that doesnt affect the rest of our use of public land.

 

[dtrkyman]

I can't imagine what the "open" roads look like, the closed roads here in New Mexico look like a rally course, they need to figure out a way to keep them off the closed roads, they have enough roads here to rally on!

Really sucks hiking into a nice area and all you find are atv tracks everywhere!

 

[mt terry d]

Some people can’t stand other people having fun. The same people that love shutting down roads and trails don’t want you hunting there either.

Exactly. Myself and some friends & family members have been going down there for a few years now with dirt bikes. Have had nothing but good experiences with other recreators, be it SXS, hikers, etc. The only trash we've seen is where a plastic bottle or something is bounced out accidentally from a SXS. And we'll pick it up. Starting 2023 we were required to pay a $20 bribe ( AKA permit) to ride there. Now one of our favorite trails is closed. It's a narrow canyon, sand and rock, nothing any vehicle can harm. But it's closed
because "Enjoy Your Public Lands".

The only trouble we've had is with the Enforcers at the start of covid who kicked us out of Sand Flats. We then went to White Wash (BLM) where it's dispersed camping ( AKA "social distancing" before it was trendy).
Everyone spreads out to their own liking. Families with little kids on tiny bikes, electric carts, etc all having fun. Sometimes you'll hear some SXSs in the middle of the night tearing down the wash: I smile when that happens because that's the Sound of FREEDOM!! After a couple days the Enforcers showed up there, armed and complete with Military garb , and everyone was kicked out of there. After the flood a couple springs ago the prices shot way up in town. Food is nothing to brag about and service sucks.

We go pretty self-contained and camp but liked to go to town for a couple sit-down meals but after last time have decided to avoid the town at all costs.

Baddog is 100% correct. Divide and conquer. Posts here show it works. Sad.

 

[dtrkyman]

If everything is all good then why did they close it?

I have no problem with them on the trails where they belong, but here it is ridiculous the abuse on closed trails, but according to all the owners it is never them!

 

[Weldor]

unfortunatley, there does'nt seem to any middle ground. I own a jeep a sxs and a atv. I try follow all the rules. pay for all the off road tags etc. Never seen a off road tag on mountain bike don't know they they are required or not? I pay my way for use state blm, usfs,and adot. I have seen plenty of violations from off roaders and hunters alike. A few years back we seen 2 guys in a sxs chainsaw their way into a downed Elk. No cell service so no law available. That being said does not mean there is not plenty of guys out there playing by the rules.

 

[mt terry d]

If everything is all good then why did they close it?

It's what they do.