BRC News

RECREATION ACCESS GROUPS WIN LEGAL FIGHT

Contacts:

• Don Amador, BRC Western Representative
  • Phone: (925) 625-6287
  • Fax: (925) 625-5309
  • Email: brdon@sharetrails.org
  • Webpage: http://www.sharetrails.org/staff/#DonA
• Paul Turcke, Esq.
  • Phone: (208) 331-1807
  • Fax: (208) 331-1200
  • Email: pat@msbtlaw.com

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SALT LAKE CITY — On December 22 a federal judge gave pro-access recreation
advocates a stunning victory when he ruled against a national
preservationist group''s legal effort to ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) use
on millions of acres in Utah.
After listening to six days of evidence and arguments, U.S.
District Judge Dale A. Kimball denied a motion for preliminary injunction
filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) which sought to ban
OHV use in nine popular recreation areas managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). Beyond denying SUWA''s request for an injunction, Judge
Kimball granted a motion to dismiss filed by the Blue Ribbon Coalition
(BRC) and the Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL) and ruled that the
Court had no jurisdiction to consider SUWA''s claims regarding the disputed
areas. While BLM had opposed SUWA''s request for an injunction, it failed
to join in the recreational groups'' motion to dismiss.
""Hopefully this decision will help stop the ''management through
litigation'' model that seems popular with some activists,"" said Paul
Turcke, lead attorney for the BRC and USA-ALL. ""The court recognized that
administrative agencies, not federal courts, are the proper place to create
effective solutions to recreation management challenges.""
""Access groups have repeatedly rallied to assist the BLM in
striking a balance between use and protection of public lands,"" said Brian
Hawthorne, USA-ALL executive director. ""The OHV community is often
unfairly vilified by the media and wilderness advocacy groups. This
decision provides an important step in the right direction away from that
unfair stereotype.""
Don Amador, the western representative for the BRC, added, ""We have
long argued that effective solutions to recreation management are best
reached when the agency involves all users and local interests in its
decision making process. Perhaps this decision will have an impact on
similar lawsuits filed by green groups against the BLM and Forest Service
in other states and will convince the agencies to do what is right instead
of doing what they think will avoid a lawsuit.""
""The BRC decided four years ago to start a legal action team to
empower our member organizations to protect legitimate multiple-use access
to public lands. I believe this legal victory in Utah shows just how
important that commitment is as OHV recreation and government land agencies
face a blizzard of ''ban-it-all'' lawsuits filed by anti-access groups
throughout the country,"" Amador concludes.
The areas SUWA unsuccessfully sought to close to motorized vehicles
include the San Rafael Swell, Behind the Rocks near Moab, Indian Creek in
San Juan County, Wildhorse Mesa near Captial Reef National Monument, and
the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.

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The Blue Ribbon Coalition is a national non-profit recreation access group
that champions responsible use of public lands. It represents over 1,000
organizations and businesses.