In 2022 the BLM released a draft environmental assessment for dispersed camping around Moab, Utah in several special recreation management areas. The BLM just opened up a second round of comments on the draft plan for dispersed camping in the Labyrinth Rims/Gemini Bridges SRMA to address concerns raised in the first round of comment. The BLM has released the EA to provide additional information that was requested during the first comment period. BlueRibbon was adamant that the data being used by available to the public regarding wildfire, user conflicts, dispersed campsites and more be available to the public to provide public comment. Although, all the information we requested was not given in this EA we do appreciate the next round of comments to address the additional information.
356 dispersed campsites were identified within the 120,000 acre area that sits between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. You can see where the identified campsites are in the map below.
We are also making the shape files with the GPS coordinates of the sites available to members of the Dispersed Camping Access Alliance:
This is one of the most popular areas in the nation for dispersed camping. If the BLM designates all current inventoried dispersed campsites at 356, which is highly unlikely, that still is restricting use into a box rather than managing impacts. This plan is ultimately punishing users who have practiced leave no trace principles and have not left any indication of their campsites. It is feasible that within hundreds of thousands of acres, users can have the camping experience they desire whether that be a remote dispersed campsite or a developed campground. Pets would be required to be on leashes even at the dispersed campsites, fire pans, portable toilets and the restriction of wood gathering are still part of the EA as they were in the first released EA.
It is critical for recreationists to have as many camping sites available in the Moab area as possible.
Arbitrary closures are not the answer and must be vigorously opposed.
User education is the answer to help mitigate problems perceived or real. Not closures.
As a combat Veteran I am angered that land management agencies for decades propose plans already influenced by radical groups like SUWA, with predetermined outcomes already established. So the remainder of users are pushed on the defensive.
You need to turn this stuff around before you end up in litigation.
Under the proposed rule by the Biden Administration called the Pubic Land Rule, the BLM would realign emphasis toward ecosystem health, preserving landscapes for future generations. This enviromental insanity will keep my wife who is handicapped from ever being able to see these places with our ATV. Also with the EV push, we’ll be forced to stay home with the only worry of having enough charge to get to Walmart. We need voices like the BRC to help keep these places open.
Stop closing access to our land. It belongs to all of us and we want to be able to see and enjoy it. Keep dispersed campsites open. Enable more dispersed camping not less. Land can be properly cared for without eliminating access
It is sad to continually hear how BLM wants to close more and more land. As an outdoor enthusiast, my friends, family, and I have been visiting Moab for almost 30 years, sometimes two to three times a year. We have been disperse camping in many different areas of Moab but one of our favorite places to camp is the Labyrinth Rims and Gemini Bridges area. We were just back in the area in November and the area looked great with very little change. To me this shows that most all dispersed campers and users of the land are taking care of it! Almost 30 years, thousands of campers and users and not much has changed. So why I asked would you just want to up and close the area, not to mention all the areas you feel you need to close? There are other options if you are worried about human waste. Well placed porta-potties, or outhouses is an example. This is our land and we should be able to continue to enjoy it, learn from it, and experience it. My kids who have been enjoying 4 wheeling in the area and was raised doing so and respecting the land, now have kids of their own and they are growing up enjoying and learning by doing the same thing. Closures are not the answer!!!!!