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The Past, Present, and Future of Motorized Vehicle Use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Oct 6th, 2024 Written by suwa

The Past, Present, and Future of Motorized Vehicle Use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

The Landscape

Over the decades, many writings, both factual and fictionalized, have discussed controversial management decisions governing the stunning landscape of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, particularly when it comes to protecting the Recreation Area’s many natural and cultural resources. From Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang to Wallace Stegner’s Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, Glen Canyon has been a source of inspiration for generations. And with good reason! 

Glen Canyon’s 1.25 million acres feature stunning redrock canyons, expansive stretches of undisturbed landscapes, and significant cultural and paleontological resources that lie at the heart of the Colorado Plateau and in an area with the highest density of wilderness-quality lands in Utah. To be precise, it sits between Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to the west, Capitol Reef National Park to north, Canyonlands National Park to the northeast, and Bears Ears National Monument to the east. 

Each of these surrounding areas are renowned for their stunning scenery, diverse flora and fauna, cultural sites, and outstanding recreation opportunities. They are also managed to protect these objects and qualities. Glen Canyon possesses very similar landscapes and values, and yet the National Park Service (NPS) has not always managed the Area in a manner similar to its neighbors. 

The Past

For nearly 50 years – since Glen Canyon’s designation as a National Recreation Area in 1972 up until 2021 when the Area’s first Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Plan was approved – NPS illegally allowed motorized vehicles to travel unchecked throughout the Recreation Area. Unauthorized travel included driving cross-country along Lake Powell’s shorelines and off designated park roads.

Despite repeated calls from conservation organizations to regulate motorized vehicles in the Recreation Area, NPS did not do so. Consequently, in 2005, a coalition of organizations sued NPS over its decades-long practice of turning a blind eye to ORV travel within the Recreation Area. That litigation was settled in 2008 and the agency promised to develop and implement an ORV management plan. 

Photo within the Orange Cliffs Unit.

A decade later, in 2018, NPS finally completed that Plan. Unfortunately, this Trump-era Plan codified decades of illegal use including allowing all sorts of vehicles (think conventional vehicles, ATVs, dirt bikes, and side-by-sides) to drive on Lake Powell’s ever-increasing shorelines, through parts of the spectacular Orange Cliffs Unit (which serves as a backdrop to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park), and on a series of extremely remote routes feeding into the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.

The Present

In March 2023, SUWA filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Trump-era ORV Plan. We argued that the Plan violated federal law because it failed to take the required “hard look” at environmental impacts and failed to designate ORV areas and trails to minimize these impacts. As a result, the agency’s determination – that the Plan, once implemented, would not lead to impairment of Glen Canyon’s resources – lacked evidence and was inaccurate.

After nearly a year of negotiations, SUWA, along with the National Parks Conservation Association (who separately sued over the same plan) entered into a settlement agreement with the NPS that requires the agency to issue a new rule proposing to 1) close the Orange Cliffs to ATVs and side-by-sides; 2) close designated shoreline access areas to motorized use unless lake elevations rise to sustainable levels; and 3) close various remote routes to ATVs and side-by-sides. The proposed rule was released in September 2024 and is anticipated to be finalized in January 2025. 

From the Orange Cliffs unit, looking into other portions of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

As expected, the proposed rule complies with the terms of the settlement agreement. However, we believe the public (and the remarkable Glen Canyon landscape!) would further benefit from additional changes such as: 

  • Clear and obvious communications both online and in-person explaining which shoreline access areas are open or closed to motorized vehicles
  • Information explaining what visitors are and are not allowed to do when a shoreline access area is open or closed to motorized vehicles 
  • Posting signs, webpages, social media posts, etc. communicating closures and other rule requirements in both English and Spanish

Expanding communications about the specifications and limitations on motorized vehicle use in Glen Canyon will not only make the Recreation Area more safe and accessible to visitors but will also further ensure environmental impacts are reduced. 

Here’s where you can help!

SUWA will be submitting comments urging NPS to issue a final rule that tracks closely with the settlement and takes the common sense steps outlined above to make sure people know where they can and can’t drive. And we’re asking you to do the same. Your comments will help NPS make a better decision! The comment period is open until November 15, 2024. 

The Future

Assuming the final version of the rule tracks with the proposed rule, matches the terms of the settlement, and NPS implements the changes they committed to making, we believe the most sensitive and spectacular parts of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area will be protected, while still providing ample opportunities for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. 

No matter what the future holds, we will continue to protect the wilderness-quality lands within and surrounding Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.