10th Circuit Court Upholds Travel Restrictions on BLM Lands to Halt Off-Road Vehicle Abuse in Utah

September 19, 2006

On September 19, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision upholding the legality of off-road vehicle restrictions put in place by BLM to halt considerable adverse impacts caused by these machines in Box Elder and Grand County, Utah. The radical motorized recreation group Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL), sued the agency, seeking to overturn the restrictions so that off-road vehicle abuse could continue without management oversight. Upon losing in District Court, USA-ALL appealed to the 10th Circuit where they also sought to overturn Executive Orders governing off-road vehicle use. While groups like USA-ALL often state abuse of public lands is a problem caused by a few bad apples, their actions in this case demonstrate the opposite. They sought not only to remove management oversight from these lands in Utah, but to impose their own brand of unrestricted off-road vehicle abuse on all public land nationwide. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Earthjustice, along with Wildlands CPR, Red Rock Forests and Great Old Broads for Wilderness intervened in the case to support the BLM’s long-overdue restrictions on off-road vehicle abuse. The court held, significantly, that an “emergency” is not required before BLM may limit off-road vehicle use on public lands, and that BLM’s decision is supported by substantial evidence of abuse. The 10th Circuit Court found that the District Court properly dismissed USA-ALL’s claims against the BLM. The court has been very clear: While everyone has a right to access public lands, no one has the right to abuse them.

The full text of the decision is available here(pdf).