ATV riders stand up BLM in Utah

Until the Quad riders start policing their own and not just saying Oh you shouldn't do that, but actually calling law enforcement and turning in the rogues, we will be on the losing end. That so called demonstration did way more damage to our cause, than working within the legal system and showing appropriate respect for the law.

You tear up trails in our area, or ride in non-designated areas and you will find yourself facing the law, as the locals have NO use for you or your actions. we have won several law suits against the Feds recently, because we do care and police our own here.

I just don't like the noise. I'm the same way on lakes. I just prefer peace and quiet.

I love riding ATV's but they got everyone blocked from using the trails around the city I used to live in. They totally tore up the sides of the hills because hillclimbing is fun, but it caused severe run-off and destroyed part of the trail system. Very few go out to just putter along the trails, and faster speeds mean more damage due to sliding and spinning tires. Too many ATV's riders have no concern for the area they ride in, and one rider is all it takes to tear up an amazing amount of ground. Ten conscientious riders will not make up for one careless rider.

And don't get me started on horseback riders! Talk about something that tears up trails! We'd ride trails on our mountain bikes after the horses had been through and it was horrible the damage done.

I have a pamphlet from the forest service that i saved that shows a spaghetti looking muriad of trails on a hillside. This picture is in a wilderness area and this muriad of trails was caused by hikers. There are rotten people in all walks of life. So that said i guess we should close wilderness to hikers right ?

Shadow Catcher wrote:
My first degree is anthropology and I am aware of the huge amount of damage done to First Nations sites by those in ATV's. Think of it as, how would you like it if some one was driving around the grave yard your grand parents were buried in and whooping it up. This is an area that is culturally sensitive and I don't know that there are grave sites but none the less why can't there be areas preserved from the noise and stink and all too often just plain lack of respect for those that were here first.

ALL of the US, at one time or another, had somebody else living on it. The natives that we drove off, drove off other tribes before them.

You are saying, even if an area has no graves, we should not use it.

Therefore, ALL of the US is off limits to us doing anything! All you non-native people in the US, just leave. No matter what you do, or where you do it, you are desecrating and not paying respect to the natives, thus JUST LEAVE!
(sarcasm font)

My first degree is anthropology and I am aware of the huge amount of damage done to First Nations sites by those in ATV's. Think of it as, how would you like it if some one was driving around the grave yard your grand parents were buried in and whooping it up. This is an area that is culturally sensitive and I don't know that there are grave sites but none the less why can't there be areas preserved from the noise and stink and all too often just plain lack of respect for those that were here first.

Pedal a off road bike, it's fun, healthy and quite!

Nutinelse2do wrote:
I would say because hikers and horses dont go out with intent to cause destruction. They go out to enjoy the area and its scenic, quiet beauty.
We are by no means liberal save the planet activists, but all it takes is a few to ruin it for the rest. Utah and the 4 corners area is beautiful, sacred land, and if it means no atv's to save the areas integrity for generations to enjoy, we are all for it, No, I am not saying atv'rs are trouble makers, we had quads for many years, but there will always be the few who want to vandalize and cause trouble, and they are much more likely to be on a motorized vehicle than foot or horseback.

Just like all those rvers that waste fuel driving from place to place. They are all just a bunch of polluters... gotta love those generalizations. As an avid mountain biker who grew up riding in So California I have heard your same argument only with "motorized" being switched with "bikes". So one weekend we went up and sat on a popular trail and videotaped the entire day. Guess how many bikers cut the trail, discarded trash, or in some other way altered the landscape? 0 Guess how many hikers did the same? 15 Obviously this is not a valid sample size but it sure did sway the city when we presented it to them.

I would say because hikers and horses dont go out with intent to cause destruction. They go out to enjoy the area and its scenic, quiet beauty.
We are by no means liberal save the planet activists, but all it takes is a few to ruin it for the rest. Utah and the 4 corners area is beautiful, sacred land, and if it means no atv's to save the areas integrity for generations to enjoy, we are all for it, No, I am not saying atv'rs are trouble makers, we had quads for many years, but there will always be the few who want to vandalize and cause trouble, and they are much more likely to be on a motorized vehicle than foot or horseback.

It won't trigger them opening anything, I am afraid.
However, it is clear that a growing number of citizens are reaching the point where they believe the BLM needs to be refocused, and their mission re-evaluated, in a very big way.
This growing number of citizens, if they unite and get their act together, can trigger a revolution at the ballot box, which can change things...if it goes far enough, and they stay the course, pressuring their representatives at every level to get this bureaucracy under control.
I understand their frustration.
I spent several years involved in the "working with BLM" game, trying to deal with the absurdities of recreation area management plans, etc. In the end the people lost.
The truth, as I experienced it, is that (with few exceptions, the recent victory in Glamis being the biggest of those) there is a culture in the BLM that transcends administrations, and that culture is not one that supports mechanized recreation. In fact, it doesn't support recreation at all. I once heard a highly placed BLM official tell me to my face that, "closing and gating land is much easier than managing it for public access".
In general that culture supports gaining control of and then closing as much land as possible. The culture is aligned with the anti-access crowd, and they really don't try to hide it.
It is the culture that needs to be changed.
Land grabs continue. Look at what is afoot at Veil Lake in Southern California.
Anyway, it is nice to see the people starting to get involved in the process.
We have a long road ahead of us, but getting involved and getting organized is a great start.