Dear
Friend,
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Copyright
Ray Bloxham/SUWA. |
The National Park Service is requesting comments on its draft
Off-Road Vehicle Plan for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
(GCNRA). Your comments could help decide the fate of this remarkable landscape.
Managed by the National Park Service (NPS), the 1.25 million-acre GCNRA
includes some of Utah’s most remote and magnificent public lands. It is surrounded by the equally
impressive landscapes of Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks, the Vermilion Cliffs
and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, BLM-managed
wilderness-quality lands, and the Navajo Nation.
NPS is drafting an off-road vehicle (ORV) plan and is proposing
to legitimize and expand existing,
unauthorized ORV use. Conversely, the adjacent NPS-managed Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks
prohibit the use of ORVs (including street legal ATVs) within
their boundaries.
Tell NPS it should preserve Glen Canyon’s scenic landscape and
cultural history rather than authorize unmanageable ORV use.
There
are thousands of miles of off-road vehicle routes on public lands managed by
the BLM and U.S. Forest Service in southern Utah that provide ample motorized
recreation opportunities. There is no
compelling need to authorize ORV use in the GCNRA.
Congress designated the GCNRA in 1972 to “. .
. preserve the scenic, scientific, and historic features contributing to pubic
enjoyment of the area . . .” Although the most visited feature of the GCNRA is
Lake Powell, the remaining 87% of the NRA is largely undeveloped, containing
pre-historic cultural sites, wildlife habitat, and outstanding opportunities
for a pure wilderness experience.
Please tell NPS to preserve Glen Canyon’s scenic landscape and
cultural history rather than invite ORV mayhem.
NPS requires that comments be submitted no
later than March 4, 2014:
- Via its web page
- Or by U.S. Postal Service: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area,
Attn: ORV Plan/Draft EIS, PO Box 1507,
Page AZ 86040
Click here for suggested points to make in your comments.
Thanks for taking action,
Liz Thomas
Field Attorney
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
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