** Off-road vehicles again banned from Utah's parks
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Monday, October 28, 2019
Canyonlands National Park, Department of the Interior ([link removed])
The National Park Service has withdrawn ([link removed]) an order issued last month that opened Utah's national parks to off-road vehicle use. The rule, first announced on September 24, would have allowed "street-legal" off-road vehicles on hundreds of miles of paved and unpaved roads throughout the state's twelve national parks ([link removed]) . The change would have been significant, since ORVs are not allowed ([link removed]) in the vast majority of national parks throughout the country.
Over the past month, the change drew criticism ([link removed]) from many people with concerns about the effects on the environment and visitor experience, and the lack of public input throughout the process. Conservation groups and towns adjacent to national parks, such as Moab, celebrated the reversal. "I don't think everything belongs in every place," stated ([link removed]) Scott McFarland, who owns a Hummer and ATV business in Moab.
The Interior Department stated that after further consultation, they found the rule to be unnecessary ([link removed]) , and directed parks to maintain ([link removed]) the original ORV closures.
Quick hits
** New Mexico's oil boom creates division in the state
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Local advisory councils fading under Trump's BLM
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Bitterroot Magazine ([link removed])
** After pushback, NPS reverses decision to allow off-road vehicles in Utah's parks
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
** Interior Department backs down on FOIA changes
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The Hill ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | KUER ([link removed])
** New Mexico Native American tribe building solar farms amid state's renewable transition
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
** Public lands chief wrote for a cult extremist's magazine
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Huffington Post ([link removed])
** Critics gear up for response to lease sale in Arctic refuge
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Editorial: As federal workers face violence, rural leaders play politics
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Public involvement is really critical, particularly at a local level. Folks that know those lands, that work on those lands, that are dependent on those lands for their livelihood or places to play need to come together—and that's the benefit of [Resource Advisory Councils].”
—Ed Shepard, president of the Public Lands Foundation, Bitterroot Magazine ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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What a shot! Moonset over September snow
@GlacierNPS ([link removed]) courtesy of Nate Luebbe #Montana ([link removed]) #FindYourPark ([link removed])
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