Two new bills introduced by Utah lawmakers could bring off-road vehicles into Capitol Reef National Park and potentially other national parks across the country — a change that could ripple into the greater Moab region, where residents and recreation businesses are wary of how such policies might affect nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
Sen. Mike Lee and Sen. John Curtis introduced the State Motor Vehicle Laws in National Park System Units Act and the OHVs in Capitol Reef National Park Act. Together, the bills would loosen current restrictions on off-road vehicle use within national parks and, in Capitol Reef’s case, open a dozen paved and dirt roads currently closed to such vehicles. Both lawmakers have previously supported expanding state control over public lands and access.
Both measures were introduced Oct. 3, 2025, and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. As of late October, no hearings or votes have been scheduled.
The first proposal would require the National Park Service to align its road rules with state motor vehicle laws. In Utah, where ATVs, UTVs and dirt bikes can be licensed as “street legal” after meeting equipment standards, that shift would allow those vehicles on paved and dirt roads within national parks statewide.
The second, park-specific bill would require Capitol Reef to open routes currently restricted by the NPS.
Utah law allows certain off-highway vehicles to be registered as “street-legal” and driven on public roads under specified conditions, and similar laws are on the books in 20 other states.
Sen. Lee described the bill as a straightforward effort to ensure “consistency” between state and federal road laws. In announcing the legislation, Lee’s office said the measure would “clarify that state motor vehicle laws apply on park roads just as they do on other roads,” arguing it would remove regulatory confusion for drivers.
However, conservation groups say the move would upend decades of management precedent.
“We’re deeply concerned for Capitol Reef and America’s national parks,” said Cory MacNulty, southwest regional campaign director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “These bills strip the National Park Service’s ability to manage park roads by opening them to off-road vehicles that bring noise and damage to fragile landscapes.”
Former Capitol Reef superintendent Sue Fritzke, now with the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, noted that “substantial opportunities for OHV use already exist on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands throughout Utah.”
This isn’t the first time lawmakers have proposed expanding off-road access in national parks. In the mid-2000s, Interior Department officials discussed loosening NPS rules around off-road use, and in 2019, the National Park Service briefly allowed “street-legal” ATVs on park roads before reversing the policy after a public outcry.
NPS reverses policy allowing OHVs in parks
The proposals arrive during a partial federal government shutdown that has left national parks understaffed and operating with limited services. Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands have remained open but without many rangers or maintenance crews.
Critics allege the legislation was introduced during a shutdown — when the National Park Service cannot comment or assess impacts — to sidestep normal oversight and public input processes.
What’s next
Both bills have been referred to committee in Congress but have not yet been scheduled for hearings.
The proposals arrive during a partial federal government shutdown that has left national parks understaffed and operating with limited services. It’s unclear when the bills might advance or whether NPS staff will be able to participate in the process.
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