Senate concurs on House Bill 412 to coordinate state, county and Forest Service on Dixie National Forest roads

The Utah Senate concurred and gave final passage to House Bill 412 to implement a state transportation plan process for the Dixie National Forest and to encourage cooperative planning with counties and the U.S. Forest Service.

Senator Vickers described frequent local concern about road closures in Southern Utah and said the bill will improve coordination so counties and the state can present considered plans as federal agencies develop motorized travel decisions. He said some closures are appropriate while others remain contested and that increased local participation in planning is the bill’s purpose.

There were no questions from the floor and the sponsor waived summation; the motion to suspend the three-reading requirement succeeded and the bill passed by roll call and will be transmitted to the House for speaker signature.

Local counties included in the plan were described as initially numbering about eight, with the expectation the plan will grow to include additional rural counties over time. The legislation was presented as a procedural vehicle to bring county concerns into federal land management decisions.