"If either side is happy, we haven't done our job."
Jeff Long, BLM Officer

If you have never been to Coral Pink Dunes State Park and the surrounding Moquith Mountain area in Southern Utah, or have only been going there the last couple years, you should be aware - there are more than 700 acres of dune and trail riding, mostly on the coral-colored sand surface. However, what you may never know, is that only a few years ago the riding area available to OHV's was thousands of acres. In 1998, most of the area was temporarily closed to motorized access or restricted to specific designated routes, to complete a use study and management plan. The entire Vermillion area is now managed by that plan which was adopted by the BLM fairly recently, in the August of 2000 in fact, making those closures permanent.

Before you grab your off-road-equipped soap box to jump up on, be aware - this plan was adopted after more than five years of studying, town meetings, feedback, and God knows how many thousands of your tax dollars in research. The findings? That 95% of the use of the area was for NON-MOTORIZED recreation. Hiking, fishing, birdwatching, biking. The part that OHV's most used, was the 5% now allocated for motorized use. There's a lot still there to enjoy. It's ironic, though, that if we'd been ripping around off-road over more of those thousands of acres as we are often accused, we probably would have had more access now. But since OHV use was generally confined, that is what was determined was fair for the public to continue to use as such.

It's important to note that the application of the plan is still under a Wilderness Study umbrella - the BLM monitors ALL users, including OHV-ers, to make sure they are following the rules. Specifically, camping and riding only in approved areas. That mean NO NEW TRAILS. If you're on the dunes in the State Park, don't ride over any vegetation. If you're on the trails in the Moquith Mountain area, stay on the trails and don't make any new ones. Currently, it appears the use of the area is within allowed limits. However, if they go up there at the end of the summer and find evidence of new trails being established, the first step will be to post signs indicating which trails you ARE allowed on. Can't follow those simple instructions? The riding trails are closed.

Come on people - you've got over 730 acres of dunes and 10 miles of approved trails. Don't blow it. Enjoy the access we've got, and respect the people who go there for the "solitude." (Don't ask me what that even means - I'm pretty sure they drive up there in loud, gas-guzzling Volkswagen buses, but I could be wrong...).

I strongly encourage you to check out the full BLM Managment Plan for the Vermillion area - if you're aware of what rules they are specifically looking to see if we follow, you're less apt to find yourself with an expensive ticket, or without the riding area at all. And it documents the interesting process leading to government land managment decisions.

http://www.ut.blm.gov/CoralPink/nraug21crldecision.html

So Officer Long's feeling that "If either side is happy, we haven't done our job..." is probably a good mantra. I'm sure not thrilled that they think 5% is a fair representation of the percentage of people that participate in off-road recreation these days, but I also know that our friends at the Sierra Club et al will be happy only with 100% no-access. So just knowing that they aren't happy, helps me sleep better at night (especially to the roar of the neighbor's 250R coming back into camp....)

-ptw