From the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is reconsidering a 2023 Travel Management Plan (TMP) that closed more than 300 miles of trails near Moab, Utah, a welcome development for the off-road community.
On September 24, BLM announced it will reassess motorized vehicle route designations within the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area, near Moab, including whether certain routes currently designated as closed or limited to off-highway vehicles should be redesignated as open to OHV use. BLM proposes reopening more than 145 miles of trails for OHV access.
- Click here to view an interactive map of the area that includes the routes that BLM has preliminarily identified to reopen.
SEMA will formally weigh in to support the BLM's proposal as part of a public comment period that ends October 24.
Background
SEMA has a long history of working to protect motorized access to the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area. After the Biden administration finalized the 2023 Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges TMP, SEMA supported the Off-Road Business Association's (ORBA) administrative appeal challenging the BLM's proposed closures along with the agency's process surrounding the decision. The challenge highlighted problems with the decision, including inadequate review, incomplete and defective factual data, mapping errors, decisions made from unsupported data and violations of settlement agreements.
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