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Off-Road Access to be Expanded in Glen Canyon

utah.sierraclub.org

The National Park Service has proposed adding more than a dozen areas for off-highway vehicle use within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, the plan is designed to halt illegal off roading. However, conservation groups aren’t happy.

In 2008, the Park Service agreed to crack down on illegal off-highway vehicle use in the Glen Canyon Area and several other Southwestern parks. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, the move came as a result of a lawsuit brought by three conservation groups.

The Park Service’s resulting environmental impact statement includes five options for handling OHV use in the million-acre Glen Canyon Area around Lake Powell. The Park Service’s preferred alternative would make 17 locations usable to OHV riders. Park officials say the plan increases off-road access in high-use areas and adds speed limits, quiet hours, noise restrictions and new signage. A spokesman for the Park Service also said the proposal will attract a wider range of park users.

But, conservation groups describe the Park Service’s preferred alternative as potentially harmful to the area. The National Parks Conservation Association and the National Wildlands Council claim that expanding OHV use would further expose the sensitive desert environment to damage and animal-disturbing noise. They also claim OHV riders currently use more than 400 roads in the Glen Canyon Area without being monitored by the Park Service.

The public will be able to review and comment on the plan on the National Park Service’s website until March 4.

Ryan Heinsius joined KNAU's newsroom as an executive producer in 2013 and became news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast.
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