Recreation Access Groups Win Legal Fight - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2001

On December 22, 2000, 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."

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 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 Capital Reef National Monument, and the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.