Moab Riding in Danger.

America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009. This legislation -- which will ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to public lands to those who live and recreate in Utah -- was introduced by New York Representative Maurice Hinchey.

This bill proposes to change the following in Wilderness:

b) Designation- In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following areas in the State are designated as wilderness areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:

(1) Arches Adjacent (approximately 12,000 acres).

(2) Beaver Creek (approximately 41,000 acres).

(3) Behind the Rocks and Hunters Canyon (approximately 22,000 acres).

(4) Big Triangle (approximately 20,000 acres).

(5) Coyote Wash (approximately 28,000 acres).

(6) Dome Plateau-Professor Valley (approximately 35,000 acres).

(7) Fisher Towers (approximately 18,000 acres).

(8) Goldbar Canyon (approximately 9,000 acres).

(9) Granite Creek (approximately 5,000 acres).

(10) Mary Jane Canyon (approximately 25,000 acres).

(11) Mill Creek (approximately 14,000 acres).

(12) Porcupine Rim and Morning Glory (approximately 20,000 acres).

(13) Renegade Point (approximately 6,600 acres).

(14) Westwater Canyon (approximately 37,000 acres).

(15) Yellow Bird (approximately 4,200 acres).

Map of Proposed wilderness areas in UT.

Map of propsed ares near Moab.

Virtually all of the best trails in the region would be lost for MTB access.

Wow!  I think I should think about this before I comment...  But...  I have ridden a lot of these place & they are definately sensitive, unique areas.  It sounds like the beef is with the ATV & OHV's causing damage.  I have no problem with designating Wilderness areas, but it doesn't seem right that MTB's should be excluded from them.  This policy makes no sense to me.

JF

Another thing worth considering is the economic impact this would have on the town of Moab its self.

translation....

untill we are allowed in Wilderness MTB should be against new wilderness and any current wilderness designation.

The only thing worse than motorized people on trails(which IMO are better than shit machines aka horses) are so called enviromentlist.

Absolutely!  There are tons of outfitters down there, quality bike shops, events & tour companys that thrive on many different activities for survival.  I'm sure there will be strong lobbying against a lot of this designation.



I was waiting for you to say what I was thinking...  You are so much more eloquent than I.



JF

 Let's all selfishly protect our own interests and leave everyone else to their own devices. Yeah, that'll work.

Like it or not, the current Federal law is that Wilderness = no "mechanized" travel, which includes mountain bikes.   The choice is to either take on that fight, which I believe is virtually unwindable, or argue against wilderness in areas you want to mountain bike.

I have been riding Moab since the parking area at Slick Rock Trail was a flat rock that could hold about 5 cars.  I have seen it boom, first with mountain bikes and jeeps, and more recently with ATVs.  I can attest the the ATVs have been a scourge on the landscape which has totally ruined the mountain biking in many areas.  Bikes cannot ride very well in sand, so they stay on roads and slick rock, but ATVs have no limits in that landscape.  A few weeks ago I drove by a large 40 car parking lot on the highway north of town on a Saturday that used to be used 80-90% by bikers doing rides in that area.  The lot was full of vehicles with ATV trailers and not one bike rack. Moab is still an incredible place to ride, but the game has completely changed, which is why Fruita is now the preferred place to mountain bike by many in this area.

This is the sad truth.  Why is it an unwinable battle, it makes no sense to me that horses are allowed in places where MTB's are not.  The law was written wrong!  I would prefer to not argue against wilderness.  If it came down to it, I would sacrifice biking in areas if it meant protecting them from destruction.  The reasoning just baffles me.
JF

I have only ridden Fruita once, are the trails closed to ATV's?

Single track has to be limited to 2 wheeled users like MTBs (any maybe motos).

The wilderness law was written before the invention of mountian bikes.  There is a movement to change "mechanized" to "motorized," so that bikes would be let in, but from what I know about it the oposition is big enough that it is unlikely we will see it in our lifetime.  Unfortunately, the best hope for that would probably be the privatization of wilderness and the commercial custodians charging bikes to use it.  Not something anyone wants to see.

I believe that ATVs are prohibiited on most of the Fruita trails, but I don't really know exactly how it works.  Fruita has some great riding but lacks the slick rock and awesome scenery of Moab. It is on the Interstate and closer to Denver, Glenwood Springs, etc., so it makes an easier weekend trip for the big population centers.  IMO Fruita is definitely worth goiing to, but is a poor substitute for Moab, or at least what Moab used to be.  Moab still has tons of bikers using it, but the vibe of the town has swung considerablty towards ATV rentals, tours, and private users.  I lost my love a few years back while doing my favorite ride (Gold Bar Rim).  While sitting on the rim overlooking Arches N..P. a tour group of a dozen ATVs drove up to what had taken us 1.5 hrs. to ride in desert solitude.

Moab, like many places suffers from the curse of beauty. Everyone wants to do it.

This is a real can of worms.  To change it would require revisions by Congress to the Wilderness Act.  I used to ride single tracks in Colorado to the edge of the Lost Creek wilderness, where I had to turn back, but horse packing hunters could go in, set up camp, shoot the elk, leave a mess.  When I looked at all the damage that could be done to the Wilderness Act, in terms of special treats for mining companies with old claims, national security exemptions for oil and gas, etc, I decided I had to support it as it reads.

The ATV has ruined the Trans Canada Trail in BC.  Sounds like my old stomping grounds, Moab, is going the same way.  I think the BLM needs more motorless areas, but if that can't be done, bring it into wilderness designation.  The land is more important than my bike, particularly if I have to compete with those infernal combustion devices.

Another premise I can't agree with.  That land is federal..."that land is your land, that land is my land..."

They have no right to profit from the destruction of my land.  If they want to turn it into an ATV park, they need to get a bill through congress and buy it from we the people. Bend recently did this with a parcel of federal land for parks and soccer fields.  It took several years, and millions of dollars of local tax money.

Moab would be a ghost town if this went though. They arent going to get more hikers than they have in MTBer. and ATV riders right now.

there are so many areas where horse can go shit all over the place and I am not allowed that to make more areas where horses can shit all over the place and I am not allowed by bike is pointless.

 Let's have some pictures. How bad is the ATV problem really. Is this just an over-reaction by some Sierra Club types or is it something bigger than that?

I remember when Ritchey used to sell a tire called the Moab-bite which had red rubber so as to not leave skid marks on the rocks. I think it's a shame that mountain bikes would get banned for the perceived offenses of others. There ought to be some sensible solution that doesn't throw the baby out with the bath water. At the same time, this land is our land and it's also the ATVers land. They ought to have somewhere to ride. I've driven across Utah. There's already plenty of terrain that has been "pre-ruined". Can't we let them rip the crap out of that?

looks pretty bad....here's a map of the ATV areas



Here's a group offering tours of the Monitor Merrimac loop, which was loose and sand without roto-tilling:

 

http://www.highpointhummer.com/atv_tours.html

Then there's you tube of all my old favorites beeing shredded:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URrh3zjNi2c&feature=related

So you liked it better back in the bad old days when the local economy was based on natural recouses extraction? The message here seems to be: F-U I got mine.

I just went to Canyonlands NP and the rangers were telling us about all the roads built in the mining boom back before the park was established. I was under the distinct impression that the whole area including the national parks was hosed by mining well before MTBs or ATVs were invented.

Moab is now thriving as a tourism based economy. Tourism based economies are more environmentally progressive than extraction based economies since the local people protect their resource rather than simply exploite it. Taking that resource and locking it away behind a wilderness boundry will kill tourism in Moab. Tourism was supposed to be the solution to mining. Now that it has succeded the environs want to kill that  too.

I was under the distinct impression that as long as they stay on established trails and roads, the impact of ATVs and Motos is negligible. You can't damage slickrock or loose sand with a rubber tire. On the other hand just walking on the desert vegitation or the cryptobiotic soil is enough to kill it which takes like 100 years to regrow.

 Better not show that to the Lorax.

Find me one single route where they can and have stayed on the trail.  Then find one non-motorized recreationalist who doesn't feel a big tour of infernal combustion engines doesn't seriously detract from their experience.

PS: They don't seem to worry too much about the cryptogams in canyonlands.  They still have grandfathered in grazing in parts of it.

It is actually a myth that the cryptogamic soil requires a hundred years to grow back.....studies have been done that show it can grow back in as little as a year or two.  I spent 5 summers working in Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument...all in backcountry "wilderness" designated areas...and damaged crypogamic soil from one season had grown back by the next summer. The wilderness designation of many areas there forced us to hike in 10 miles by foot on a well-established fire road to reach our study areas instead of taking the truck.  We wished we had mountain bikes to make the trip shorter, but then realized we couldn't use those, either.

That said, it would be a shame if the wilderness designations are that restrictive to prohibit mountain bikes in the Moab area. 

Here is Congressman's Hinchey's website http:www.house.gov/hinchey/index/shtml

 

I don't have a "dog" in this fight, but I always get a little nervous when the feds make policy without getting feedback from the state.   This man claims he has the support of many Utah politicians.  For those interested, it might make a good read. 

Oops, this is "holasnow" posting for Pandita, she forgot to sign out of our computer. 

I haven't ridden every where in moab, but my impression was that the ATVs generally seem to stay off the bike trails. Seems to me the vast majority don't ride off trail or break too many rules. The problem is the ones who do have a 500cc engine to tear up the place with.

/Soap Box


I read that. Its just about as clueless as the republican response form letter  posted on TGR. One thing is becoming clear to me that neither party seems to have a reasonable position on this issue. I don't want to see the area raped for oil and gas, but cutting off the only real recreational uses is just as horrible an idea.

The territory in question is truly vast. In the moab vicinty I don't see any hikers or horses on the bike trails. Most of the areas in question are not going to be readily accessible on foot. Wilderness will be effectively blocking all recreational uses becuase the only people who use those trails are riding bikes, motos, etc... I don't think the proposal meets the needs of any user group.

On other fact is that the designation is unenforceable. No one has the man power to enforce that sort of ban. If this ever did pass, there are some in the motorized user groups who would ride anyway and they will be pissed off, riding on trails that are not  being maintained, and won't care if they are riding over precious desert plants or not. And lets not forget that its the local officials, the same ones who enviro groups claim are so reluctant to enforce ATV restrictions now, are the same ones who will be enfocing the wildernessa area.

Wilderness designation is truly the most drastic draconian measure available. There has to be some middle ground that can protect form development without locking up these lands and throwing away the key.

/Soap Box


Edited by tromano - 10/19/09 at 8:23pm

I think we agree here Tromano.  I believe the authority exists in the BLM to designate trails non-motorized.  The forest service does that on the bike trails in Bend, and compliance is very good.

As I wrote somewhere above, the wilderness act is flawed, but I would hate to see the political crap fly if it were ever altered.

The "sport" of ATV riding has exploded in popularity and they can now be found from the high mountains to the deserts all over the west.  As with every human endeavor, there is a portion of the practitioners who take pleasure in not following the rules.  The problem is that one jerk on an ATV can do a huge amount of damage to the landscape in a very short amount of time, and it is impossible to police the activity on the vast tracts of public land where ATVs are ridden.

Last weekend I did a mountain bike ride on BLM land outside of Farmington, New Mexico on the Road Apple Rally trail system, which is the home of the longest continuous mt. bike races in the country.  The single track crosses numerous sandy gas well roads in rolling juniper and sage brush country.  At every trail intersection there are "No ATV" signs, but there were ATV tracks on every inch of the 15 miles of trail I road that were closed to ATVs, so there is obviously no enforcement.  A few years ago a biker confronted two guys on ATVs on the trail.  They beat him up and ran over his bike.  Needless to say bikers no longer tell the ATV riders that they are not suppose to be on the trails, even though they had to ride past numerous signs telling them just that.  There is no legislative solution for A-holes. They are just a fact of life we need to learn to deal with.

I have been mt. bike riding in Moab for over 20 years, and IMO the ATVs have virtually ruined it in the last 5 years. It is not just the ones who don't stay on the trails, it is the shear number of them on the best trails.  The desert trails that bikers are building in this area now tend to be very twisty with continuous tight turns that are not ridable by ATVs.  Once the trails get away from the entry roads they mellow out the curves. 

Almost all the old desert bike trails I ride were originally made by motorcycles, so I can't really complain that they are now being taking over by ATVs.  We just have to build them narrow and twisty to physically make them ATV unfriendly.  IMO legislation will never be a practical solution, except in limited areas.
Edited by mudfoot - 10/19/09 at 9:01pm