Federal land managers say they are reassessing recent motorized vehicle route designations at a popular recreational area outside of Moab, which could become the next political football within Utah’s public lands.
Bureau of Land Management officials on Wednesday announced their plan to review the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area, with a primary focus being whether routes “currently designated as closed or limited to off-highway vehicles” should remain closed off, potentially reversing changes made during the Democratic Biden administration.
“The process has and will be informed by the agency, cooperators and the public — including a comment period,” the agency added in a statement.
The bureau, now overseen by the Republican Trump administration, passed a new management plan in 2023, which reduced off-road recreation vehicles within Labyrinth Canyon and Gemini Bridges by 317 miles and implemented some seasonal closures, among other things. It still allowed for 812 miles of space for off-highway vehicles, but it also ignited a fierce battle between recreation groups, environmental groups and the state.
Gov. Spencer Cox called the measure “completely unacceptable” and “blatant federal overreach,” saying that the routes closed had been “used by the public for generations,” as the state filed a notice of appeal to push back against the plan in November 2023. The BlueRibbon Coalition, a group that advocates motorized outdoor recreation, also pushed back, saying that it believed the agency disregarded the “thousands” of people who advocated for routes to remain open.
Groups like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance celebrated the move, calling it a “really important step forward
toward “recognizing that it is necessary to determine where off-road vehicles are allowed to travel.” They said the plan protected many cultural sites and provided the experience of nonmotorized recreationists within the 300,000-acre landscape.
The roles flipped after Wednesday’s announcement.
BlueRibbon Coalition officials called the announcement a “major step forward for public lands access and outdoor recreation enthusiasts nationwide,” in a statement on Wednesday. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance officials blasted the move, saying the review could undermine the agency’s “own environmental analysis that shows just how destructive off-road vehicles have been in one of Utah’s wildest red-rock landscapes.”
A legal case over the 2023 ruling has been stayed since this spring, and it’s unclear what’s next for it — or if changes to the plan may spark new litigation.
Bureau officials launched a public comment period on Wednesday as part of their reassessment of the plan. It will remain open through Oct. 24, and a a decision will be announced sometime thereafter. Public comments can be submitted online or by mail to Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges TMP; 82 Dogwood Ave; Moab, UT 84532.
All rules and guidelines from 2023 will remain in effect while the plan goes through review, bureau officials added.