Public Comments Sought On Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan
Right now, off-road vehicles are
allowed to operate in only a few areas around Lake
Powell, in Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area. Officials have been reviewing
off-road vehicle use and have drafted an environmental impact
statement that looks at 5 options for future management.
Decisions regarding off-road vehicle
use will impact recreation at Powell. A public comments period is now
open and people are encouraged to make their views known on this
subject.
Details
can be found here. Below are highlights provided by the National
Park Service.
Five alternatives
are analyzed. Alternative A, the "no-action" alternative,
represents the continuation of existing management policies and
action related to the use of ORVs in Glen Canyon and represents “no
change” from the current level of management direction and level of
management intensity. Alternative B, the environmentally preferred
alternative, does not designate any ORV routes or areas and would
allow motorized vehicle use only on existing park roads. Alternative
C would expand recreational opportunities by increasing the number of
ORV routes and areas as well as the types of vehicles that would be
allowed on park roads. Alternative D would limit the number of ORV
routes and areas and prohibit the operation of OHVs and ATVs
throughout Glen Canyon. Alternative E, the NPS preferred
alternative, designates a mixture of opportunities for motorized
recreation on park roads and designated ORV routes and at remote
shoreline areas while prohibiting such uses in areas where resources
and values may be at risk.
All action
alternatives include provisions to improve signs and road/route
markings, develop a communication strategy to better educate visitors
on regulations and resource concerns, and to close and restore routes
and areas not designated for off-road use. In alternatives that
would provide for off-road use, management and mitigation strategies
are outlined to address the impacts from off-road use. This would
include implementation of a permit system to provide for education on
applicable regulations, provide for visitor safety, prevent resource
damage and recover costs for monitoring, mitigation, education and
administration of the permit system.
All comments on
the Plan/DEIS are welcome, particularly those that assess the
adequacy of the document in disclosing and evaluating the effects on
the environment. These comments are most useful if they are as
specific as possible and do the following:
- Discuss a particular plan element or alternative
- Identify incomplete or incorrect information
- Offer reasons why a particular alternative or plan element would or would not work
- Offer a reasonable, new plan element or completely new alternative that could help accomplish the stated goals
- Point out discrepancies between legal mandates and proposals
- Highlight deficiencies in the analysis of environmental consequences
- Provide information on how you use the park and how particular proposals in the planning document would affect that use.
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