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BLM tells Emery County the travel plan is advancing despite RS 2477 lawsuit
Summary
BLM staff told the Emery County trails committee the Swell-area Travel Management Plan is moving toward a decision targeted for November, but RS 2477 litigation could alter a small portion of routes (about 17.6 miles proposed for closure); BLM estimates roughly 92 claimed routes totaling ~656 miles in the county.
Jaden, a BLM representative, told the Emery County Travel Bureau Trails Committee that agency staff are finalizing responses to public comments and developing an area-by-area decision layer for the Travel Management Plan (TMP) in the Swell and surrounding lands. He said the agency expects to issue a decision by November and is using public feedback to select different alternatives in different places rather than a single, uniform option.
"We have around a 92 routes or 656 miles," Jaden said, describing the scope of RS 2477 claims in Emery County. He added that the large majority of those claimed routes remain open in the TMP alternatives under consideration. "We got 27 routes or 21.8 miles that are closed currently and are proposed to potentially stay closed," he said, and clarified that 17.6 miles are currently open but proposed to be closed in the draft alternatives while staff examine resource concerns.
The TMP team has also identified adverse effects to cultural sites and is preparing historic-treatment plans to submit to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). "We've been starting to draft that, and I've been working closely with our archaeologist to come up with mitigation measures for some of those adversely affected cultural sites," Jaden said.
On litigation, Jaden described two separate legal matters. One is a local court decision about RS 2477 routes in Kane County; another is a state-led lawsuit seeking more local control of unallocated federal lands. He said the lawsuits do not stop the BLM from progressing with planning but could require additional analysis. "We're just kinda sitting and seeing where that's gonna go right now," he said of the state-level case.
Committee members asked whether the litigation would stop the TMP process. Jaden said it does not immediately halt planning work: "We're still pressing forward with our planning and projects in those areas and lands until a judge tells us that it's no longer ours." He acknowledged the lawsuits could change some proposed closures and that staff will revisit a subset of routes (the ~17 miles flagged for extra review) before a final decision.
Why it matters: the TMP will determine which roads and trails are designated for motorized use, nonmotorized use, or closure across large portions of Emery County public lands. Those designations affect access, maintenance responsibilities, cultural-resource protections and how volunteers and equipment are deployed for trail work.
Next steps: BLM staff said a decision is targeted for November and that they will continue to refine alternatives and mitigation plans. The committee was asked to remain engaged and provide site-specific information and photos to inform project prioritization.
Sources: Direct remarks by Jaden during the committee meeting.
