Every year, I look forward to riding with a great group of friends around Moab, hitting as much singletrack as we can, with jeep trails and fire roads to connect the dots.
If you’ve ridden Moab, you understand how unique and magical it is. There is nothing else like it. You just have to experience it for yourself — and people come from all over the world to do just that.
It’s basically the off-road capital of the world.
Motorized vehicles like dirt bikes and Jeeps allow us to experience the natural beauty and challenging terrain of Moab first-hand. Many of these remote desert areas are not simply practical to access and appreciate in any other way.
But Moab is under attack.
On September 28, the BLM announced a new travel management plan for off-highway vehicle use in the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area.
Out of 1,127 miles of travel routes, 28% are now closed to motorized access, or 317 miles of trails.
Popular trails like Mashed Potatoes, Hey Joe, Gold Bar Rim, Ten Mile Canyon road are all closed under the plan.
The BLM had 4 options on the table, including an option to keep all trails and roads open. They ultimately selected, more-or-less, the most restrictive of all the options.
What is perhaps even more concerning is that this is only plan 3 of 11 that the BLM will release as part of a 2017 settlement with Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).
That means 8 more of these closure decisions are coming down the pipeline. If we sit idly by, more and more beloved trails will be permanently closed.
Now is the time to act, which is why Moto Coffee supports the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), a non-profit organization that is leading the legal effort to challenge these closures.
For the month of November, we’re donating 10% of sales to the BlueRibbon Coalition.
Whether you stock up on Moto Coffee or donate directly to BRC, please join us in the fight for motorized access to public lands by sharing this post and the information about what’s happening in Moab.
To get more involved, we also recommend BRC’s 5 Actions You can Take to Fight For Our Trails.