Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area spans the border of Wyoming and Utah. As one of the reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin, the water it holds plays an integral role in not just recreation but water levels in other reservoirs as well. Flaming Gorge provides both OHV recreation and water recreation. Submit your comments to U.S. Forest Service to protect motorized recreation within the planning area.
U.S. Forest Service will create alternatives to address the future of recreation in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Let USFS know that recreation on both land and water is important and provides many economic benefits to the gateway communities. Planning proposals for Lake Mead and Lake Powell have shown that considerations to remove recreational infrastructure is a possibility. BRC advocates for adaptive management to allow for continued use within the reservoir.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation had a record breaking year in 2021. Outdoor recreation now accounts for $821 billion in economic activity. For reference, the oil and gas industry is $812 billion. Outdoor recreation is popular. It is an economic juggernaut.
Yet, public land agencies act as if this nearly $1 trillion dollar industry is optional or an afterthought. Instead of building new launch ramps, roads, trails, campgrounds, and infrastructure to accommodate the new growth in outdoor recreation, land managers are relentlessly closing public lands and waters for the public to use. It doesn’t make any sense. A deeper dive into the numbers reveals that the engine driving this record-breaking growth is literally the millions of engines that find their way into the various forms of motorized recreation. Non-motorized forms of recreation account for $33 billion in economic value. Gear that is used in all forms of recreation accounts for $52 billion. Motorized forms of recreation account for a shocking $78 billion in economic value.
Please build new boat launch ramps, roads, trails, campgrounds, and infrastructure to accommodate the new growth in outdoor recreation. Extend boat ramps deeper into the water to account for low water conditions.
This comment pertains to Flaming Gourge Reservoir. The intent of the reservoir was to provide supplemental water to agriculture activities in many areas. It was not built to keep Lake Mead water levels higher. Flaming Gourge has a pristine ecosystem consisiting of wilde birds, Antelope, Mult Deer, thraten fish species and other animals. The continuing lowering of the lake is not acceptable. We expect the BLM and DOI to stop lowering water levels until:
1. An full EIS is performed on the entire lake to ensure no ecosystem damage corrus if waters levels are kep unaccpetably low.
2. After the EIS is published with it’s findings, the public is allowed to comment.
3. All other aspects of NEPA are followed.
This is a start. The agencies which manage the water on this lake are exposing themselves
to litigation by the not following the processes.
This is public land managed and maintained using tax dollars. People deserve to use this land.
USFS should focus on educating those whom recreate on public land to do so in a responsible way. Local economies rely heavily on such recreational areas and restricting use would cause irreversible harm without a thorough and vetted transitional plan in place.
How does it make sense to limit access to the people who pay the taxes to maintain these public access areas. Do your job and enforce the rules not cut access. I want to be able to take my kids to the places I have seen.
Please keep all forms of recreation open at Flaming Gorge. Now more than ever, more people are recreating outdoors. Closing any access only adds pressure to other areas already suffering from over use. Motorized recreation spends more money than other types. This revenue source is good the local communities and can also help build infrastructure for all types of recreation.
Do not reduce OHV riding areas! Less and less places to ride!
Please work to keep motorized recreation open. Public land shouldn’t be only available to the young people that can hike. Many of us love the outdoors just as much but because of age and health issues and injuries we can only get there by motorized transportation. As our population ages we need increased motorized access, not less.
Thanks, Richard Pratt
Why is the current administration hell bent on closing trails to OHV’s? Us baby boomers no longer backpack and my wife is handicapped. The only way to see this off road scenary is by our Jeep or 4 wheeler. What happened to access for all.
special interest groups are continually trying to close public land to the public. i’d like the public lands left open to all the public and not just the anti motorized recreation group. motorized recreation has the biggest dollar impact on the region and they have just as much right to the land as anyone else.
I and my family have been enjoying the Flaming Gorge area for over sixty years. We value the waters that we have fished as well as swam in, water skied on, and the trails that we have ridden that have enabled us to explore the many different options to see and experience the pristine landscape and the history of the area and the pivotal role that it has played as the west was settled. We need to have more availability to not only continue to use these resources but to have them available for our children and grand children to use. More recreational camping and more designated trails would be of great value to our family and many others. Flaming gorge is a diamond in the rough- so to speak.
I have personally have seen how helpful motorized recreation can be for small towns and communities. At my local national forest they just reopened a staging ground that is close to town. The other one being about 10 miles away down the freeway. After opening the grounds many recreationist now stop in town for food gas and other needs.
There is a local burger joint in about 100 yards from the staging area. The restaurant always has a line around store full of 4×4 drivers, hikers, cyclists, adv, dual sport and dirt bikers. If that staging area and trail system was closed to the public then the restaurant would lose hundreds of costumers. Many small communities rely on recreation due to a lack of other industries so when public land gets closed we all lose out.
I personally will be moving out to eastern Idaho and flaming gorge is an area I would love to explore on my dirt bike and 4×4 one summer. So being able to ride there would be very helpful.