BLM Price Field Office releases travel-management decision; DOI signs, plan takes immediate effect

The Bureau of Land Management's Price Field Office has released a finalized travel-management decision that designates or reclassifies hundreds of miles of routes across the San Rafael Swell and adjacent public lands, a BLM planner said during the Emery County Trails Council meeting.

The decision was signed by the Department of the Interior, “so there's no protest period, no appeal period,” the planner said. “So it's full force and effect right now.” The planner also said the office received more than 6,000 public comments on the proposal during the planning process.

Why it matters: the decision both opens and closes route mileage and creates a legally binding designation for many routes used by motorized and non-motorized visitors. The planner said the final package leaves “just under 1,500 miles of routes open,” with about 1,355 miles open to any vehicle type and roughly 41 miles limited by vehicle width. The planner described a swap that closed some previously designated routes while opening other routes and campsite spurs, and said the net result is additional designated routes overall.

BLM said the office closed about 158 miles of previously designated routes but opened roughly 240 miles that had been closed, resulting in a net increase of designated routes compared with the previous map. The planner told the council that many of the closures were old, unused roads or routes that had not seen public use; in some cases a newly designated route follows a more sustainable alignment used by the public rather than an older legal route.

The Department of the Interior signed the decision on short notice, the planner said, which removed the usual administrative protest and appeal windows. That does not prevent lawsuits, the planner said: “We are anticipating challenges. I think both sides … released statements about displeasure and interest ensuing.” Litigation would proceed directly to the federal courts rather than through the administrative protest process, the planner said.

Implementation steps described by BLM include publishing map products (PDF and an Avenza map) and selectively placing signs and barriers this spring and summer on routes that need clarification or active route control. The planner said staff will not automatically gate every closed historic route; signing and physical barriers will be used where necessary to keep users on designated routes.

BLM officials invited local partners to work on route-numbering and map updates for county motorized maps and said they will coordinate sign installation and outreach in the coming months. The planner asked the council for help identifying places that need localized clarification or signage.

"I don't think we've closed any trails that I consider a popular trail that gets a lot of use," the planner said, adding that most high-use access remains available under the new decision.

Ending: BLM staff said implementation — signage, map publishing, and targeted physical barriers — will begin this spring and summer. They also said they expect legal challenges and encouraged local stakeholders to review the new maps when BLM posts the Avenza product and updated county materials.