On a late spring morning in 2014, a group of people rode ATVs and four-wheel-drive vehicles through the bottom of Recapture Canyon east of Blanding. They carried guns and American flags.
The Bureau of Land Management had closed the road where they were driving because of damage to archeological sites in the area. The riders knew they were trespassing, but they said they were there to protest federal mismanagement of federal lands. The event drew national attention, and one of the participants was a local San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman. Lyman later served 10 days in jail on misdemeanor charges for trespassing.
Management of Recapture Canyon has been a touchy subject for years. The BLM had been working on a revised plan to manage access to Recapture Canyon, but damage to archeological sites from the off-road vehicles set their assessment back. However, in early September the agency released an environmental assessment for the area. The public comment period for that assessment ended last Monday, October 24th.
It may seem less exciting than a loud and dusty procession of ATVs driving through a closed section of Recapture Canyon, but the BLM now has a stack of public comments about how to manage the canyon into the future.
Monticello BLM Field Office Manager Don Hoffheins says about 130 comments came from environmental advocacy groups like the Sierra Club and Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and also the tribally-affiliated Dineh Bikeyah. Comments also came in from pro-ATV advocacy groups and local and state governments.
Hoffheins says the field office received about 900 form letters submitted through the website of the non-profit environmental group Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, or SUWA. Hoffheins said the letters didn’t address the environmental assessment specifically, but SUWA’s webpage says the group supports completely closing Recapture Canyon to motorized vehicles.
So, some groups see the canyon as a recreational area that shouldn’t be hindered by federal regulations, but others see it as a wild place rich in archaeological sites and fragile desert ecosystems.
Moab Assistant BLM Field Officer Lisa Bryant says the BLM will now read through the comments and respond to the substantive ones. It will also correct any errors in the assessment and make any changes needed before they choose one of the management options. The six options range from keeping the existing closure to motorized vehicles in the bottom of the canyon to accepting a proposal by San Juan County that would create a new, longer trail through the canyon accommodating ATVs, mountain bikes, horses, and humans.
The BLM has not released a timeline for the final decision, but Bryant said they hope to be as transparent as possible as they move forward with the process.
