Reader comments
Dispute heats up over roads in Emery County

"Close the back roads and keep people out because they would visit the most beautiful areas in Utah and them driving there would harm the areas. lets us keep them safe for those bad people and only allow those that can hike in or have horses to take them in." Is that the message the SUWA wants to push?

Maybe we should keep homeless people out of our cities because they would detract from the beautiful parks and shopping malls we have so carefully built. Hey how about keeping them out of our shinning hospitals? Only let the beautiful people in. Shame of SUWA trying to block access in the name of keeping them safe for only a small part of the people! I love to visit public lands using the back roads and would be blocked if the roads are closed.

SUWA should be ignored. They are a tiny group of fringe extremists seeking to ban human access (except by an elite few who are avid hikers) to as much of our land as they can manage to put off limits.

The roads were there, and the public, ALL of the public has the right to access these areas.

The law is clear and if the roads were in use they must remain open or be re-opened.

And I agree completely with "bob @9:49." For whom are we "preserving" the land if almost nobody has the practical ability to even get in and see the land. I'm not really interested in "preserving" vast tracts of land for a few hippies and die hard survivalists who have the ability, time, and resources to spend weeks hiking into and out of highly remote areas.

Without access roads if there is a fire you can't go in and fight it. Fuel grows and you have the catastrophic fires we've had of late. Poor wildnerness management. (It's wilderness...you don't manage it.) Yeah yeah. You do if you regard yourself as a steward of the land and not simply an observer.

I can drive my vehicle anywhere I please, it's a God-given right, if you hippies and radicals don't like it, GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY. USA! USA! USA!

Indeed. Emery County cowboys won't stand for this nonsense. And they should not have to.

law doesnt matter to environmental groups if it clearly states something contrary to thier own selfish and ignorant views. i hope the judge kicks them out of the court. the environmental groups have zero business sticking thier nose in this process.

the law is clear on this issue and the judge should rule in the support of that law. those areas should remain open for access, period.

SUWA has a $5 million budget, Sierra Club has a $50 million budget, Wilderness Society is up there someplace around $50 million and most of the money comes from back East. Now you know why they can afford to push their agenda onto those that live in the State and don't agree with them. The BLM has enough problems trying to follow the law and satisfy everyone without being dragged into court. Wake up Utah, you are being pushed around by people from outside the State.