12 Days of Legal Updates: Rebalancing Public Land Restrictions for Access
Earlier this year, we shared an infographic which illustrated how unbalanced public land restrictions have become. There are 640 million acres of public lands, and when you add up the acreage amounts of all the restrictive land designations, our multiple use lands have been reduced to only 40% of...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Save Moab
For decades, Moab’s trail system provided access to world-class riding, camping, and exploration across southeastern Utah. In recent years, sweeping land management decisions have eliminated that access by closing hundreds of miles of routes that supported generations of recreationists and local...
12 Days of Legal Updates: USFS Objection Resolution Wins
Some of BlueRibbon Coalition’s biggest wins don’t happen in court—they happen at the table. Through the U.S. Forest Service objection process, BRC protects motorized access, dispersed camping, and recreation opportunities by pushing for better decisions before litigation is needed. The recent successes below show how early engagement delivers real results on the ground.
12 Days of Legal Updates: Standing Our Ground in Johnson Valley
This year, BlueRibbon Coalition brought national attention to the U.S. Marine Corps' attempt to establish permanent Special Use Airspace (SUA) over the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area. In the face of a proposal that could jeopardize emergency medical response, disrupt a $71 million OHV recreation...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Withdraw the Public Lands Rule
Earlier this year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the process of rescinding the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (CLHR)—a sweeping regulation many have called the “Public Lands Rule”, which puts a nice spin on it. BlueRibbon Coalition submitted formal comments urging the agency...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Protect & Expand Access— For Every Body
“It’s not closed, just walk!” We hear this all the time from anti-access advocates when our trails get closed. When we point out the discriminatory nature of their stance, usually the next claim goes something along the lines of “but the BLM allows for wheelchair use.” Technically, that is...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Reverse Decades of Agency Regulatory Abuse
Over the past year, while we challenged restrictive travel plans and national monuments in court, another equally important battle was unfolding behind the scenes, one fought not on trails or in courtrooms, but in the complex world of federal rulemaking. For the BlueRibbon Coalition, defending...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Stop Antiquities Act Abuse
For far too long presidents have been abusing the Antiquities Act to bypass congress and lock up millions of acres of public land. Below we review BlueRibbon Coalition’s efforts to stop the abuse & how national monument designations adversely affect recreation.
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Expand Access With E-Bikes
This past year has been nothing short of transformational for the movement to expand responsible access across America’s public lands. Nowhere is that momentum clearer than our community’s fight to open trails for Class 1 e-bikes. BlueRibbon Coalition and its supporters helped secure wins in...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Lawsuit to Save the Henry Mountains & Fremont Gorge
In the final hours of the outgoing administration, the BLM approved the Henry Mountains and Fremont Gorge Travel Management Plan which closed 612 miles of motorized routes that hold deep ties to generations of outdoor recreationists. In April of 2025, BlueRibbon Coalition filed suit to challenge the closures.
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Fight to Rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule
Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to either rescind or revise the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Throughout its 25 years of existence, BlueRibbon Coalition has fought against the implementation of the...
12 Days of Legal Updates: Our Lawsuit to Save the San Rafael Swell
BlueRibbon Coalition highlights 12 major legal initiatives and actions we have taken in the last 12 months. Our legal program is only possible due to our individual members and donors. Please consider a tax-deductible donation today. Day 1: Our Lawsuit to Save the San Rafael Swell.
SUPPORT OUR LEGAL CENTER
Our legal work is possible because of individual members and supporters like you. With your support, we were able to hire our first full-time attorney last year—leading to the most impactful period of legal success in our organization’s history. Your backing has empowered us to win critical battles for public access, but there’s more to challenge and anti-access groups continue to file lawsuits at an unprecedented rate. Continued support ensures we have the legal strength to defend our rights and keep our public lands open.