Utah trying to take control of federal lands

[Rockchuck]

I live in Utah. Very much against all these state land grab attempts. If it ever went through, it will only lead to reduced public use and enjoyment, privatization, over-development with new roads, etc. We have few enough wild places already.

 

[thegrouse]

The feds recently shut down areas near Moab also, so I can't say they are doing a great job either.

 

[Poser]

The feds recently shut down areas near Moab also, so I can't say they are doing a great job either.

I assume you are referring to the ~300 miles of ORV trails that the BLM closed West of Moab.
Have you witnessed the actual shitshow that is ORV culture in Moab? Regardless, the area is not "closed", you just can't drive through it any longer.


Also, the city of Moab attempted to restrict non street legal vehicles from driving on city streets between the hours of 11 PM and 6 am to reduce traffic noise, but were overruled by the state government. Feds overrule state on federal lands. State overrules city on city streets....

Under state law, it is legal to drive ATVs on all city and county roads outside of Salt Lake County, which means Moab can’t ban them from making noise on residential roads at night.

Moab ATV Regulation Fight Isn't Over, Despite Failure Of Curfew Bill In State Legislature

An effort to regulate all-terrain vehicles in Moab was killed by the Utah Legislature last week, but people on both sides of the issue say the fight isn’t over.

www.kuer.org

 

[thegrouse]

I assume you are referring to the ~300 miles of ORV trails that the BLM closed West of Moab.
Have you witnessed the actual shitshow that is ORV culture in Moab? Regardless, the area is not "closed", you just can't drive through it any longer.


Also, the city of Moab attempted to restrict non street legal vehicles from driving on city streets between the hours of 11 PM and 6 am to reduce traffic noise, but were overruled by the state government. Feds overrule state on federal lands. State overrules city on city streets....

Under state law, it is legal to drive ATVs on all city and county roads outside of Salt Lake County, which means Moab can’t ban them from making noise on residential roads at night.

Moab ATV Regulation Fight Isn't Over, Despite Failure Of Curfew Bill In State Legislature

An effort to regulate all-terrain vehicles in Moab was killed by the Utah Legislature last week, but people on both sides of the issue say the fight isn’t over.

www.kuer.org

Yes, I have camped back there several times and never noticed anything too crazy. I never saw excessive trash, just the occasional idiot.

 

[HighUintas]

I'm surprised that Cox is behind this BS. Through his term so far, I think he's been the most decent governor we've had in awhile. However, I am half guessing it's only because he's running against that $h!thead Lyman, who is the epitome of sagebrush rebellion idiocy and a wannabe Trump.

I wouldn't ever trust the Utah government with public land. Many others already hit the key points our government is concerned with. Property taxes, mineral extraction, etc. $$$.

 

[roadrunner]

Under state law, it is legal to drive ATVs on all city and county roads outside of Salt Lake County, which means Moab can’t ban them from making noise on residential roads at night.

Moab ATV Regulation Fight Isn't Over, Despite Failure Of Curfew Bill In State Legislature

An effort to regulate all-terrain vehicles in Moab was killed by the Utah Legislature last week, but people on both sides of the issue say the fight isn’t over.

www.kuer.org

They can't ban the use of one. They can certainly make you put noise suppression on one if there's a noise ordinance in place.

 

[CorbLand]

Like him or not, Randy Newberg has a good podcast out about this and explains everything. Its worth a listen.

 

[HighUintas]

Like him or not, Randy Newberg has a good podcast out about this and explains everything. Its worth a listen.

Does he go into the part about this particular lawsuit being tied to udot wanting to build a particular highway or interstate in a certain area down south that's been denied for years due to wildlife impacts?

My wife has some solid info due to formerly working in a politics-adjacent NP organization and from what she tells me, it sounds like that highway/interstate plus the obvious wanting to sell land for housing development are the primary factors.

Even if there weren't a couple of specific driving factors, I think they'd be doing it anyway because that's been Utah's history since before we were a state.

 

[TaperPin]

I was listening to a proposed development in another state and it all stinks. A road really is needed, so the developer wants the federal land for the road and a wide swath of right away land above and beyond what’s needed for the road to provide “infrastructure” businesses to support travel on the road, and residential housing for the people working in the area. Oh, and he will build the road if he’s allowed to make it a private toll road. Sounds like horse crap.