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By: Robert Janis
Are Conservationists
Using New Tactics to Close Roads
A coalition of conservation organizations,
the Bill Barrett Corporation, a Denver-based oil
and gas company, Carbon County Utah, and the
Bureau of Land Management have announced an
agreement between them that closes Horse Bench,
Jack Canyon, Jack Ridge and Cedar Ridge Roads on
the West Tavaputs Plateau in Desolation Canyon
in Utah to motorized vehicles. The Bill Barrett
Corporation leases the land from the BLM for a
full field natural gas development project. The
action was taken without public comment or
hearings.
Dale Bartholomew, trails specialist for the
Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of
Parks and Recreation, and president of Public
Lands Equal Access, is familiar with the area
and the agreement. He told ATVSource that the
routes were open originally in the Resource
Management Plan but a controversy arose at Nine
Mile Creek and the end of the Horse Bench Road
in the Bad Lands cliffs area. “Right there is
the border line of the Vernal BLM district and
the Price BLM district. Vernal District left the
road open and Price District closed it,”
explained Bartholomew. The agreement closes the
Price District section of the road and thus
closes the opportunity for a loop route
altogether.
“We didn’t get involved because we didn’t
know about the negotiations between the Bill
Barrett Corporation, Carbon County, the
conservation groups, and the BLM,” continued
Barholomew. “This bothers me personally because
I ride the Horse Bench Road, and the action
closes a fantastic loop that takes you through
the Bad Land cliffs and the Nine Mile Creek. I
don’t see any good reason for closing it. There
is not that much traffic there.”
Bartholomew pointed out that the Bill Barrett
Corporation has several pumping stations on the
leased BLM land. “The agreement caters to the
environmentalists,” he said. He added that as
far as he knows, this is the first time this
type of agreement to close roads open to
motorized vehicle use has been made. “There have
been temporary agreements while construction
work was going on to accommodate construction
equipment. However, this closure is permanent,”
said Bartholomew.
Is this a new tactic on the part of
environmentalists to force the closing of roads
to motorized vehicle? If the closure is ordered
directly by the BLM, there would have to be an
examination through a National Environmental
Policy Act review. These reviews require an
environmental assessment along with a public
comment period and the right for the public to
appeal any closure decision. The public was not
involved in the agreement, and there was no
environmental assessment. So, one can ask, is
this an attempt by conservationists to force
road closures without having to perform an NEPA
review? Is it possible that the conservationists
warned the Bill Barrett Corporation that they
would be going after them if they did not agree
to closing the roads?
Bartholomew promised to investigate.
Meanwhile, he calls for concerned people to file
a complaint in writing and ask for an amendment
to open the roads to motorized vehicle use.
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