BLM WILDERNESS

4 Wheelers 4 Wilderness supports the grassroots citizens' proposal to designate approximately 9 million acres of wilderness on lands in Utah administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Many boundaries of units in the proposal follow 4-wheel-drive trails or other rustic off-highway vehicle routes. Similarly, many 4-wheel-drive trails or rough routes have been cherry-stemmed into units of the proposal. Such routes will provide ready 4-wheel-drive or off-pavement access which will be compatible with the purposes of the proposal.

Under the citizens' wilderness proposal, a significant vehicle-route network, consisting of a large majority of the routes which receive substantial use, will be left open. Over half of the citizens' wilderness proposal is within 1 mile of a vehicle route, and over 80% of the proposal is within 2 miles of a vehicle route. The proposal would leave 60% of BLM-managed public lands in Utah as non-wilderness. Most of the trails used for the Moab Jeep Safari would be left open. The routes which would be closed by the proposal are typically seldom- or never-used routes left over from the old uranium or oil and gas exploration days.

Many jeep trails have proposed wilderness on both sides of them, so wilderness will leave the trails open while protecting the scenery around the trails from oil wells, irresponsible off-trail ATV use, etc. There will still be abundant opportunities to explore the backcountry in motor vehicles and to find quality car-camping locations.

At the same time, many areas between the vehicle routes will be designated as wilderness and closed to further encroachment by ORVs and ATVs. The result will strike a reasonable balance between providing access and protecting Utah's priceless landscape.