More ORV/ATV access to the Orange Cliffs of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area would be permitted under proposed off-road vehicle regulations/NPS

National Park Service officials missed the mark with their proposed off-road vehicle regulations for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, which was critical of where ORVs could travel under the proposal.

The rules, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, would lead to "broad and significant impacts on the park site’s environment, including on its vegetation, wildlife, and soundscapes, concerns that have been raised by NPCA and others," the nonprofit parks advocacy group said Thursday.

“While a Department of Interior official described this plan as ‘prioritizing conservation,’ the final proposal strongly suggests the opposite," said Erika Pollard, NPCA's Southwest senior program manager. "Disturbingly, this proposed off-road vehicle rule ignores the concerns raised over the years, by opening a portion of the Orange Cliffs backcountry region of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to ATV use. Bordered by Canyonlands National Park, the Park Service describes the Orange Cliffs as one of the most scenic areas of the Colorado Plateau region. Why would we put this special place at risk?

“These lands in Orange Cliffs weren’t even on the table for considered ATV use when the rule-making process began, and we are very concerned that the Park Service will be unable to prevent illegal, damaging use in this remote region," she added."We are equally worried about impairment to the backcountry recreation areas and the adjacent Canyonlands National Park."

The plan, nine years in the making, was laid out more than a year ago in a final Environmental Impact Statement that ran more than 700 pages. In the executive summary, Park Service officials said that under the preferred alternative "resources would be protected and the visitor experience enhanced by identifying and designating specific areas capable of supporting off-road use, while prohibiting such uses in areas where resources and values may be at risk."

On Wednesday, the proposed regulations were outlined in the Federal Register:

The proposed special regulations permit off-road use along 14 accessible shorelines, at Lone Rock Beach and Play Area, and on approximately 21 miles of ORV routes. The regulations would also allow ORV use on unpaved roads identified in the General Management Plan south of the Orange Cliffs Unit, which were previously open only to conventional vehicles and street-legal ATVs. ORV use would also be authorized on approximately eight miles of road in the southern portion of the Orange Cliffs Unit, which would complete the 100-mile Poison Spring Loop located on NPS and adjacent Bureau of Land Management lands. Lastly, the special regulations include a permit system for ORVs accessing shorelines, the Lone Rock Beach and Play Area, and most ORV routes. The permit fees would support education and provide cost recovery for administration and monitoring of the program. -- National Park Service

Interior Department officials said the plan was crafted with disabled visitors in mind.

"Increasing access to public lands for not only recreationalists but also people with disabilities is a priority of this administration and of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke,” said Rick May, Interior's senior national advisor for recreation. “The proposal for Glen Canyon is a great example of working collaboratively to come up with a solution that balances expanding access while continuing to prioritize conservation."

Over the last decade of this management planning process, NPCA has urged the National Park Service to prohibit ATV use on designated park roads to maintain the remote, wilderness quality of the Glen Canyon backcountry, protect the park’s important cultural and natural resources and ensure visitor safety. NPCA has also continually advocated for National Park Service action to prevent illegal off-road vehicle use and reduce environmental impacts through appropriate planning, visitor education, outreach and enforcement.

"This final rule also begs the question: why would the National Park Service open up these lands to potentially damaging ORV use, when 7,000 miles of public land around the national park are already open to such recreation?" said Ms. Pollard. "This decision by the National Park Service to allow ORV use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is simply unreasonable and unnecessary.”