Earlier this year, the National Park Service (NPS) issued a final rule to protect Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s most delicate areas from off-road vehicles. Glen Canyon covers 1.25 million acres of stunning redrock canyons, expansive undisturbed landscapes, and significant cultural and paleontological resources at the heart of the Colorado Plateau. It’s also an area with an incredible density of wilderness-quality lands. Today, we’re asking you to support protections for this remarkable landscape as it comes under attack from Utah politicians.
The agency’s rule updates Glen Canyon’s motorized vehicle regulations to provide stronger protections for some of the area’s most scenic, fragile, and special places while still balancing opportunities for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. Among other things, the rule guards against loud, disruptive off-highway vehicles in the Orange Cliffs area, which serves as a backdrop to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, while still permitting visitors to explore via cars, trucks, Jeeps, and SUVs (on designated routes). The new rule makes Glen Canyon a quieter, wilder place and helps ensure that both the recreation area and national park are preserved for future generations.
Unfortunately, these much-needed protections are in jeopardy. Senator John Curtis (R-UT), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2) have introduced joint resolutions aimed at eliminating the National Park Service’s (NPS) 2025 rule updating and strengthening Glen Canyon’s motorized vehicle regulations. The House version was approved on April 29th. The resolution (H.J. Res. 60/S.J. Res. 30) now moves to the Senate, where it must be defeated.
If Congress passes the joint resolution, the rule cannot go into effect and NPS will be prohibited from issuing a new rule that is “substantially similar,” making it much harder for the agency to regulate motorized vehicle use in the future.
Please speak up for Glen Canyon. Tell your senators you support the NPS rule and ask them to vote against the joint resolution.
You can learn more in our blog post, The Past, Present, and Future of Motorized Vehicle Use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Thank you for helping us stand up for Glen Canyon!