And the residents around MOAB who rely almost entirely on 4x4 clubs and ORV traffic to support thier small town business? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />Do they have a say in this?

I've driven all the way from Seattle to vist MOAB in a Jeep. It's beautiful indeed. Mainly because you can DRIVE your 4x4 into it.
I would not drive 14 hours to hike 20 miles in to MOAB thats for sure.

Pencil pushers in other states locking up public land with total disregard for local use really chaps my hide.

This sounds alot like the Wild Sky crap that went down here without so much as a public hearing. Here's an clip.

President Bush signed legislation today to create a new wilderness area in Washington State. The new area, designated æWild Sky WildernessÆ, will become the stateÆs first new wilderness area created in the past 24 years.

Wild Sky Wilderness will encompass 106,000 acres in Skykomish County and will be bordered by Beckler River, North Fork Skykomish River, and be a part of the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Hunting, fishing, rafting, and other outdoors activities will be permitted on this newly designated federal land. It is also noted that current float plane operations may continue in the area using a large lake situated in the higher altitude mountainous region. Logging, Mining, and off-road vehicle use, including snowmobiles and ATVÆs will be banned from the area.

The legislation signed into effect by President George W. Bush was co-authored by Rep. Dick Larson, D-WA, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA. The legislation covered 61 other bills, as well, including one authored by Rep. Jay Inslee, giving National Park status to Bainbridge Island, an area that in 1942 was used as a Japanese Internment Camp housing 227 Japanese-Americans.


The area is a mess now.
There is nothing pristine about it. Locked gates are dumping grounds for tires and appliances.
Roads beyond the locked gates are criss crossed with blackberry bushes or downed trees and cannot be hiked.
It's a total loss of what used to be a nice area primarily kept clean and open by 4x4 volunteers with chainsaws and winches.

As far as I can tell all road and trail maintence has stopped and it's just a dump now.

I really hope MOAB does not meet the same fate.