Being a Utahn who values time outside and cares about compromise is beginning to feel like being stuck in an infinitely frustrating time loop. Every day there’s a new assault on our state’s greatest asset—our public land. This time, it’s the Trump administration’s decision to re-open the carefully considered 2023 Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan to reinstate redundant motorized routes. I’m writing today to ask that you submit a public comment before October 24 to protect the future of Labyrinth Canyon and the surrounding area.
Labyrinth Canyon is a treasure located on the Green River just outside the boundary of Canyonlands National Park and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The river itself is a Congressionally designated “Wild and Scenic” river because of its “outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values.” However, a big part of what makes the area outstanding is how accessible it is, and that’s both a strength and a vulnerability.
It’s a strength because with absolutely no whitewater, anyone with the willpower to hop in a boat and spend a few days floating can enjoy the sound of silence and discover a stillness so serene that the ripple of a Great Blue Heron wading through shallow water is startling. With minimal gear and experience, you can camp on white sand beaches, explore sinuous side canyons, and find qualities that are becoming increasingly rare: simplicity, quiet, and calm.
The east side of the Canyon, however, is Labyrinth’s Achilles Heel. Tasked with the difficult job of balancing the requests of many user groups that utilize the land (often in incompatible ways), the BLM strives to enable numerous forms of recreation, including mountain biking, hiking, and off-roading. It’s impossible to please everyone, so compromise is necessary.
In 2008, the agency released a management plan that blanketed the area in and around Labyrinth with over 1,200 miles of Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) routes, many of which led to the same destinations. It prioritized motorized recreation at the expense of all other uses—filling the area with dust and noise, damaging delicate desert ecosystems, scaring native species such as Bighorn Sheep, and exposing irreplaceable cultural sites to harm.
A lot changed in 2023 when, after multiple rounds of public comment, the BLM published a new management plan. Far from targeting motorized recreationists, the plan left over 73% of motorized routes open. Rightly, the BLM and citizens who care about canyon country (many motorists included) embraced this more balanced approach that would protect the ability of all user groups to enjoy the area.
Until last month, when the BLM arbitrarily decided to “reassess” its decision in what seems to be the next iteration of an absolutist “fight for every last inch” approach from purely political in its motivation.
To be clear, I make my living guiding guests through Utah’s delightful river canyons. One of my favorite things is falling asleep to the barely perceptible sound of rippling water and slowly rowing across flatwater that seems to have no end. I’m not a proponent of motorized recreation, but I’m also not opposed to it when conducted in a sustainable and thoughtful way.
I am, however, devoutly committed to caring for the lands that Utahns’ live, play, and relax on. And make no mistake, the decision to reassess this Travel Management Plan is not just about where you can take an OHV, or whether or not non-motorized recreationists should be able to enjoy spectacular silence and wilderness characteristics in and around Labyrinth Canyon. It’s about who we are going to let dictate the future of Utah’s land management.
Don’t let the political rhetoric fool you: the sides in this fight are all of us who love to recreate on this land, both with and without motors, and those with dollar signs in their eyes who see little more than the opportunity to extract short-term economic gain from our incredible state at the expense of its future, our future.
So, regardless of how you like to experience these incredible places, if you value democratic engagement and fair compromise, I urge you to share your perspective with the BLM before October 24 by submitting a public comment!
Matthew Williams
Matt is a backcountry guide for Holiday River Expeditions and a graduate student at the University of Utah. He loves bringing people deep into Utah’s epic landscapes and thinking about what these wild places can teach us about ourselves.
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