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BLM updates: Salt Wash vehicle fence, Jurassic National Monument EA and camping designations
Summary
BLM staff briefed the committee on an EPA/NEPA process to install a one-mile 'drift' fence to prevent vehicle intrusions on Salt Wash, reported a delay in planned construction at the Jurassic National Monument and said an EA is expected for public comment soon, and described formalized Green River dispersed camping designations via Moab BLM NEPA.
Unidentified Speaker 10, who provided the BLM briefing, told the committee the agency has initiated an EPA/NEPA document and plans a project to install a "drift fence" (barbed-wire style) for just over a mile along Salt Wash to curb vehicle intrusions into the wilderness. The fencing project is intended to channel users to designated routes and will include walk-throughs or horse gates at trailheads; BLM staff said they expect to complete the NEPA process this fall, likely as a categorical exclusion (CX).
On the Jurassic National Monument wedge, Unidentified Speaker 10 said construction originally scheduled for July is now pushed to September and that BLM completed scoping, receiving more than 5,000 form letters during that process. Staff are reviewing comments and hoped to release the full environmental assessment for public comment in early August.
The BLM update also covered Green River dispersed camping designations. Unidentified Speaker 10 said Moab BLM will formalize vehicle-access campsite designations above Swazee's Beach up to Nefertiti through its NEPA process. The objective is to codify routes and reduce ad hoc vehicle impacts on sensitive areas.
Committee members asked about pedestrian access and whether permanent fencing would block legitimate users; Unidentified Speaker 10 said trailheads will include gates or walk-throughs and that crews will install signage. The committee was advised to expect visible fence work on the ground in the fall and to raise any local concerns during the BLM public comment periods.
No formal committee action was taken on these planning items at the meeting; the BLM requested that the committee and local volunteers monitor project sites and direct public inquiries to the agency during NEPA review.
