Quote Originally Posted by phines View Post
Does anyone know if the trails around Moab are in danger of being closed? I can't imagine they would let that happen. Would they? Could they?
Dude you can't be serious. But then I guess you guys in the West have so much off-roading available you don't notice it as much when an ORV area closes.

There are numerous entities with very deep pockets bent on eliminating all motorized recreation so it's not a matter of IF Moab will be closed but WHEN. The question is will it happen one trail at a time like Uwharrie? Or will it be accomplished in one fell swoop like Tellico? Like Bart said - smoke 'em if you got 'em.

I don't totally agree with the assertion that a few scofflaws spoil it for all though. It might be a small piece of the puzzle but scofflaws can be managed and their damage can be nipped in the bud. The folks shutting down our trails want us to believe scofflaws are a problem that can't be controlled because that way they can shut down more trail. But really they are the root cause. I don't know if BLM does it in the West but here in the East, USFS will shut down trails/roads, converting them to "linear wildlife habitat", squeezing us into smaller and smaller areas, then instead of patrolling and enforcing they sit back and wait for the user-made trails to appear, then point to the "damage" as evidence to shut down more trail, squeezing us into even smaller area and the cycle begins all over. Bottom line is we are losing trail every year. I have a feeling though that even if all follow the rules, our trails will still be shut down.

There is an agenda...