More roads closed in Southern Utah

[calvinhunt]

Over the past couple of years or more I have posted many pics of my Jeep and I out in the beautiful mountains, canyons, and deserts near my home in Southern Utah. �Many of you have responded to those posts saying how you envied my opportunity to have such a nice place to drive my Jeep. �Some of you are even making plans to come and join me this fall. �I have also posted a couple of times about the continuing loss of our freedoms to enjoy the many old roads left over from the uranium mining and oil exploration days of the 50s and 60s as the BLM and Forest Service continue to close roads and trails as fast as they can. �Below is a photo of the front page of our most recent small town weekly newspaper.
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It tells how a local man, in keeping with a tradition started by his father years before, had taken his family (including children and grandchildren and friends) again this year as they have done for many years to a popular undeveloped camping site in the mountains, set up their camps, came back in to town for the 4th of July festivities, and then returned to their camp site just to find the Forest Service had put up a "CLOSED" sign in the middle of the road while they were gone. �When he approached the Forest Service about it he was given permission to enter the area just to retrieve their camping gear and get out. �Another beautiful area of God's Green Earth no longer available to man (unless you are young and healthy and want to do a lot of walking). �It's not the same. �

Isn't it ironic that this happened while I was building a 4th of July parade float to celebrate our freedom and to say that freedom means Open Roads and Trails.  While we were celebrating freedoms won by our Founding Fathers our present government is taking away those freedoms away.



BLM and Forest Service closures are done discretely in order to not arouse the apathetic public. �Only the trail riders see the closed signs so most citizens really don't believe that our roads and trails are being closed by our benevolent government. �This time it is different. �I think this may cause a needed stir. �I hope there are still roads and trails to ride on this fall. �I'd like to keep posting the beautiful pics so many of you have complimented me on.

[Gunslinger]

Remeber to vote every time you get the chance!!!

[jamesr]

Write a note to your Congresman and Senators.  Write, don't email or telephone, writing has a geater impact.  Send letters to the editors.  Make some noise (as you did in the parade).  Jim

[calvinhunt]

Thanks Gentlemen,
 ï¿½Gunslinger, I have never missed voting since I turned 18 (even voted by absentee ballot while serving in Vietnam). I've always loved my country of America and my own county.  I took our freedoms for granted when I was young.  I'm old enough to remember what we once had compared to what we have now.  I don't want to lose any more.  
 ï¿½jamesr, I have written letters to the editor and have attended county commission meetings. �I have not yet written my congressmen or senators, but I will (I promise).  

[Redrockman]

Living on the Arizona strip at a ranch on the side of the "Vermilion Cliffs" i see it happening all the time. Unfortunately one of the reasons is the people who come here one time and think they "own" this land, and can do whatever they want. I have found most everything along the trails from camping litter to diapers........ Geez

So i understand why the BLM chooses to close down many trails/2 trackers and being short on funding adds to the problem. I don't like it at all, yet humans with there selfish "who cares" attitude ruin it for all the others. Where ever i go i always bring a large trash bag along, not for my trash, but for the trash that appears out of no where. I have been told that if the trash isn't there and the tracks of into no where aren't visible, that goes a long way in making judgement on which roads to close.

My .02 cents worth

[jamesr]

And in Coshise County, (SE AZ) you can fill a dumpster with gallon milk jugs, backpacks, clothes, diapers, etc. at pick-up points that the Coyotes use.  Because the desert is getting "dangerous" with armed drug runners, we are beginning to see the same type of "recommendations"  the past year or two.  We have had to shift our 4-wheeling to the Northern part of our large (apx. 3600 sq. miles) county.  Hey, but our "southern border" is secure. just ask Homeland Security. Jim

[aboyandhisdog]

Well Calvin, one thing is for sure...you clearly love the public lands as much as I do and many others!  We have similar problems here in Colorado as referenced by Redrockman and Jamesr.  Maybe it is because of proximity of larger populations - there are just bound to be more problems.  Roads that end up being closed are typically not "roads" at all, but rather just routes and shortcuts that were made by people just driving through a meadow or up a hillside.  Over time, you end up with what looks something like a road but should have never really been there.  They can cause much erosion, which then ruins the water which then affects the hatches which then affects the wildlife and on down the line.  Not to mention, they often look pretty bad.  Judging by the picture in the newspaper above, this might be one of these informal "roads", but I don't know the particulars of that specific situation.  

 I'll bet some of the guys on this forum wish they had public lands in the east the way we do out here.  Perhaps they will take some solace in the fact that our public lands are every bit as much theirs as ours!  As far as the rangers closing some routes as they do, I have little problem with it.  I don't know of a land owner in this country who would just let people drive wherever they want to.  I expect the same level of care for our public lands.  It is a privilege to enjoy some of these old roads exploring around by jeep, not a right.  Just my opinion.

[Carls_jeep]

In Kentucky once a land owner allows people to drive across his land on a daily basis and is done for a certain period of time the road is considered a public road. At that point it can only be closed by an act of the county government by ordinance. It is not easy to do and many owners after the original owner will block the road to keep people out. If surrounding owners want to continue to use the road they can petition the county court to force the owner to remove the barriers.

The problem starts when a new owner has not been told the road has to remain open or he/she wants to defy State law and try to close the road.

[Gunslinger]

Calvin, I wasn't dissing you, the vote message is one I try to get out to everyone, its really important that we are all very engagerd in our government and help them make the right choices.

I just came back from the Black Hills where we were driving the jeep around on federal land, when you pick up the new maps for both Colorado, the Black Hills and other public land take a good look at them, you'll find that the Forest Service is also dumming down the maps by removing all of the land marks that we want to see when we go out in the bush.  Things like old mines, wells, deserted building sites are all coming off the maps.  Why I don't know why, perhaps to make sure we don't have a reason to go to those places.. I don't think its an accident.

[Carls_jeep]

Gunslinger, buy US gov. topo maps, they still have all the details as far as I know. I save old maps just in case.