In the summer of 2007, Wildlands CPR expanded its operations to include a full-time field office in Moab, Utah. While Wildlands CPR has a long history of collaborating with conservation groups in Utah, hiring Laurel Hagen as the State Coordinator has greatly expanded the organization’s capacity in conserving and restoring public lands in Utah.
Check out one of our local campaigns:
- Boulder Mountain, Dixie National Forest
- Uinta Mountains and Flaming Gorge, Ashley National Forest
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area [page forthcoming]
- Moab BLM District [page forthcoming]
- Fishlake National Forest [page forthcoming]
Why Utah?
Wildlands CPR’s goal is to help build grassroots capacity among rural Utahns who share our concerns over off-road vehicle abuse and our vision of restoring the state’s unique wildlands.
Presently, recreational use of ATVs, Jeeps, and dirt bikes is a leading threat to rural lifestyles, quiet recreation, clean water, and wildlife habitat. The problem grows as some off-roaders illegally build routes throughout Utah’s public lands. The polarized political environment has left many rural Utahns wary of involvement in conservation efforts.
However, opposition to ORV abuse is becoming stronger as the damage becomes more apparent, conflicts increase, and more wildlands are converted into motorized playgrounds. Often in reaction to radical proposals promoting ORV events and infrastructure, rural Utahns are becoming more willing to organize and speak out in favor of protecting the places that make life in Utah special. This opposition to mass ORV promotion often crosses traditional political boundaries: liberals, conservatives, newcomers and old-timers all value quiet rural lifestyles and uncrowded, healthy public lands.
Organizing Conservationists, One Community at a Time
A constant on-the-ground presence is essential to effective advocacy. To this end, Wildlands CPR is building a network of local activists in small towns throughout Utah. In remote towns like Boulder, Bluff, Kanab, Escalante, Monroe, Caineville, Vernal, Torrey, Richmond and Moab, people are starting community conservation groups. These groups are voices for responsible land management as well as sustainable local communities and economies.
Wildlands CPR is seeking out these voices in the wilderness, providing direction, expertise and encouragement to local citizens. As organizers, legal consultants, and science and policy experts, we support locals’ invaluable on-the-ground knowledge and presence. Together we are working with federal agencies and local community leaders to conserve the health and beauty of Utah’s wildlands.
The current objective of most of these groups is to improve off-road vehicle and road management, as federal public land agencies revise their Travel Plans. National Forests and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas in Utah are currently charged with designating a network of roads and ORV routes. Most areas are being closed to unlimited cross-country travel for the first time, which is a major step forward. However, in many cases the agencies are designating more roads that they can manage, allowing motorized recreation to damage critical habitat, or enabling motorized trespass that displaces both wildlife and quiet users. Furthermore, a lack of enforcement, and false promises of rural wealth to be gained from promoting ORV events, has led to unsustainable use in many places in Utah. This damage must be curbed, and responsible policies that put forest health first put in place.
Wildlands CPR is focusing on roads and ORV management in the following places: the Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti-La Sal National Forests; the Moab BLM district; and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We are also participating in wider state, regional and national campaigns to curb ORV abuse, damage, and conflicts.
Get involved or support these efforts
- Plug into one of our grassroots campaigns: in the Uinta Mountains, Boulder Mountain, Moab/Canyonlands, or Glen Canyon. We’ll be expanding our website pages for these campaigns with more photos, maps and links as time goes on.
- Support our Utah work with a donation or membership
- Sign up for our e-alerts so you can comment on important issues
- Sign up for our e-newsletter on the latest restoration and ORV news, views and tools
