Late on a Friday evening in May, after most people had left work, President Trump announced the repeal of two critical executive orders that govern off-road vehicle (ORV) use on public lands nationwide: order 11644, signed by President Nixon in 1972, and order 11989, signed by President Carter in 1977. He also directed federal land management agencies—including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service—to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these orders, setting the stage for chaos and confusion as unchecked ORVs run wild across the nation’s public lands.

What Did the Executive Orders Do?

For a bit of background, those executive orders were issued in response to an explosive increase in ORV use in the 1960s and ‘70s across public lands and the corresponding environmental damage and user conflicts. They directed federal land management agencies to develop regulations that would address the problem by “minimizing” the impacts from ORV use. This included designating ORV areas and trails to minimize damage to public land resources and wildlife as well as conflicts between different recreationists. The orders also empowered agencies to act swiftly to close areas to ORVs when they are causing or will cause considerable damage to natural and cultural resources.

For roughly 50 years, these orders helped protect streams, wildlife and their habitats, and opportunities for safe recreation by providing guidance for agencies to follow in their work to balance motorized and non-motorized use on public lands. Each of those agencies subsequently issued regulations to implement the Nixon and Carter orders. To be clear, federal agencies didn’t always (or even often) do the best job implementing these orders and regulations, but they set the benchmark for what the law required and the public should expect.

Trump’s latest action marks a significant shift in public land management, one that prioritizes ORV use over all other activities and at the expense of clean water, wildlife habitat, cultural sites, and the experience of motorized and non-motorized recreationists alike.

ORVs in the Redrock

SUWA is no stranger to the problem of excessive ORV use. BLM lands and redrock country have been at the center of ORV issues for decades, and SUWA has been on the front lines the entire time. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we challenged extensive cross-country ORV use in wilderness study areas and the BLM’s hands-off approach to ORV use across the state. More recently, SUWA successfully challenged unbalanced travel management plans that prioritized motorized recreation to the detriment of cultural sites, wildlife habitat, desert waterways, and those seeking solitude.

While motorized groups and the Trump administration like to throw around words like “access,” what they really mean is they want ORV use anywhere and everywhere regardless of the impact to natural and cultural resources or other public land visitors. Simply put, “access” should not only mean motorized access. In Utah alone, right now there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt routes and trails open to ORVs in addition to more than 130,000 acres open to cross-country ORV use (meaning vehicles can literally drive anywhere within those designated areas).

What’s Coming Next

Trump’s actions won’t make public lands more accessible but will make the outdoor experience worse for everyone. They will create confusing and unsafe conditions while at the same time leading to a loss of wildlife habitat and damage to irreplaceable cultural resources. Hikers, hunters, bikers, equestrians, and those seeking quiet time with friends and family in the outdoors will end up being overwhelmed by the dust, noise, and damage caused by unregulated ORV use.

For now, regulations implementing the two executive orders—those requiring local land managers to minimize damage from ORVs and conflicts between different public land users—remain in place, as do existing travel management plans. We expect, however, that the Trump administration will work quickly to weaken if not outright eliminate both the regulations and individual plans. SUWA will be there every step of the way, fighting to protect Utah’s incredible wild places.

Travel Management Planning: Another Piece of the ORV Puzzle

Travel management plans are like blueprints that determine where ORVs are allowed on public lands. Ideally, they strike a thoughtful balance between ensuring public access and minimizing damage to wildlife habitat, waterways, cultural sites, and wilderness-quality lands.

As you may remember from recent issues of Redrock Wilderness, new travel management plans for Labyrinth Canyon, the San Rafael Desert, the San Rafael Swell, and the Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil were finalized by the BLM from 2023 to 2025. While the San Rafael Swell and Henry Mountains plans were less than ideal, overall these plans took important steps to reign in ORVs. Under the Trump administration, the BLM is now “reconsidering” the Labyrinth Canyon, San Rafael Swell, and San Rafael Desert plans, and we’re anticipating changes that heavily favor motorized recreation.

In late June, after years of dragging its feet, the BLM announced it was moving forward on three additional travel management plans covering approximately 816,000 acres: Trail Canyon (east of Zion National Park), Dinosaur North (near Dinosaur National Monument), and the Dolores River (northeast of Moab). Two of the plans had public comment periods that ended before this newsletter issue went to print (thanks to all who spoke up!). Subscribe to our email list at suwa.org/stayinformed for the latest updates on these planning processes and how you can get involved.

—Laura Peterson

The above article first appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of our Redrock Wilderness newsletter. Become a member to receive our print newsletter in your mailbox 3 times a year.