Brandon Loomis

Off-roaders and energy developers are threatening Factory Butte, Desolation Canyon, Dirty Devil Country and seven other Utah spots — along with the scenic and archaeological wonders they hold — according to a report Thursday by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Together, these 10 places make up SUWA’s list of the state’s “most threatened wilderness treasures.”

Terry Karkos

RUMFORD — A path between Bean Brook and Maple Street properties is now off limits to all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes that have been ridden on it for decades.

Bill and Peggy Malley of Maple Street decided to post their land on both sides of the path — known as Oak Street Extension — after learning last week that they own the land and not the town.

A huge thank you to New Mexico Environment Secretary Ron Curry for recognizing the emergency situation created by off-road vehicles in the Santa Fe National Forest. I visited the Jemez Mountains two years ago and was stunned by the damage. Last month, I visited the same areas and the devastation was heartbreaking.

The Jemez is not alone in suffering — off-road destruction pervades the east side of the Santa Fe and all New Mexico forests. The management of the Santa Fe National Forest is doing a disservice to the people of New Mexico. Our forests, water quality, wildlife habitat and economy are being destroyed while the Forest Service sits on its hands and makes excuses. The Travel Management Plan they tout does not address water quality or quantity. Their "plan" is a map with far too many routes in the wrong places.

Phil Taylor

A bill that would create the nation's first national grasslands wilderness in southwestern South Dakota may hinge on the support of a handful of ranchers who are concerned with how such a designation would impact their rights to graze on public lands.

Sen. Tim Johnson's (D-S.D.) proposal to give 48,000 acres of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland the highest level of federal protections enjoys strong support from the Forest Service, American Indian tribes, and hunting and environmental groups who recreate in the area's sweeping prairie landscapes and rugged buttes.

Tony Nauroth

Woods Edge Road residents told township supervisors they're frustrated over noise and dust from neighbors' four-wheelers, jeeps, pickups and other off-road vehicles.

At Tuesday's township supervisors meeting, the supervisors recommended the dissatisfied folks talk over the problem with their neighbors.

SHELL LAKE – A recommendation to open all but a few Shell Lake city streets to ATV and UTV riders will come before the city council later this month, after the general administration approved it Monday, June 28, in city hall.

At the June 14 regular council meeting, a recommendation had come before the council to amend the current

It was heartbreaking to see ATV tracks at the top of Ptarmigan Pass over this Fourth of July weekend. At least five ATVs crossed through a fallen part of the old fence there, and proceeded into the grassy rise leading to the summit. They cut directly into the tundra vegetation leaving what will most certainly become permanent scars on the mountain side.

I reached the Forest Service whose jurisdiction this is. Being undermanned, they can do little to stop this kind of criminal activity. Were they to catch the culprits, the fine could amount to as much as $1,000. (To repair the damage done would probably cost a great deal more.)

Mark S. Krzos

The eastern end of Bonita Beach Road will be off-limits within the next few weeks.

Oakbrook Properties will install a locked gate a few hundred yards east of the gated community of VillageWalk.

The New Mexico Environment Department is requesting help and funding from federal officials to address the unauthorized use of off-road vehicles threatening rivers and streams in national forests in the state.

NMED Secretary Ron Curry sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting assistance and expressing concern about the impact on the environment and water quality that results from the use of unauthorized trails and roads by off-road and all-terrain vehicles in national forests. He also requests $150,000 to finance an assessment of water quality impacts caused by ATVs and ORVs in the Jemez Mountains in the Santa Fe National Forest.

This weekend visitors driving onto the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest will need a map showing them what type of motor vehicle they can use and where they can use them. The maps are free at Forest Service offices and on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest website. Roads and trails will no longer be signed in the field as to permissible uses.

The map changes how the Forest Service will enforce road closures to motor vehicles on national forests. Those travelling on a forest road, area or trail not shown on the MVUM can be cited.