Reader comments
Take Back Utah rally

Oil and rancher interests were also a part of this demonstration. In my considerable experience in the outdoors, neither has increased my access to the wilds. In fact, most times it's quite the opposite effect.

What is this article talking about. It doesn't give any information at all. Like what is the land closure, who, where! I know I haven't been following it closely but- this is why i don't read the Deseret News that often.

The people that abuse it the most are the ones who's backyard it is.

Rather

You'll still be able to see something from the highways, folks...you just won't be able to step off the road if the DOI, environmentalists, etc. get their way.

I wonder how many people that want these closures actually grew up around these lands. If you want to protect the land, talk to the locals, and respect their right to drive their ATVs responsibly. Bypassing them to get your way isn't going to help.

Twenty, 30, 40 years of off-road use hasn't really hurt the land; what won't help is to close the roads and let them and other facilities (trails, picnic areas, etc.) decay, which the BLM has a long track record of doing.

We should just leave the Union completely! That will show em! Puerto Rico has it figured out. All the benefits, right to vote, and no taxes.

I wish I could have been there today.

The land that is being closed is in my back yard. Every time my family goes riding we notice a road that has been closed. It makes us sad and mad.
Last weekend my Husband and I were riding with a group of about 25 people. No one in our group "abused" the land in any way.

We stayed on the trails, we carried out what we carried in. We all had a great time.

I just love the people who think that it is the locals that abuse the land we love. I don't know about you but I like when people say how great my yard looks or my house looks. I feel the same pride when people comment about the area I live in.

I feel that people who live in cities should worry about there own backyard and when it is as beautiful as mine they can move in and tell us how to take care of ours.

If Congress gave all the national parks, national forests and public lands to the state for SITLA to manage, how would the protesters like that? Those who want to end federal management ought to think this through.

I've lived there, My Backyard, know many who still do, and witnessed the "abuse" firsthand...recently.

Thank you for being one of the ones that doesn't.

Problem is....it just takes a few that don't take out what is brought in, or those who don't stay on the trails to ruin it for everyone.

I used to jeep when I was young all the time. As an adult I've gone back to many places DESTROYED by overuse. How do we balance these needs of protecting and giving access? As our state/country gets more populous we have to make some hard decisions. Unfortunately this crowd is NOT reasonable...and neither are the politicians that spoke there.

It is too bad us Utahns can't seem to elect reasonable people to office. Hatch? Shurtleff? Bishop? Give me a break.

Every ATV in the back country adds to noise and pollution. You can't argue that fact. The wilderness should be a place where people can get away from noisy machines and polluted air. And please don't whine that you can't get to these places without using and ATV; if you can't get there, then that's too bad. It's meant to be left pristine.

The wolverine, UVU's mascot, is also now no longer found in Utah. And it wasn't "city folk" did away with any of those species no longer gracing our backcountry.

That is EXACTLY what the federal government should do. Convey all the BLM, Forest and Park Land to the State of Utah to manage. The Constitution requires PRECISELY THAT. Nowhere does the Constitution empower or authorize the Federal Government to permanently hang on to these land masses.

I'm no tree hugger, but isn't that what National Parks are?

I hate hiking and mountain biking with ATV's and motorcycles... in general they are inconsiderate of those trying to enjoy Utah's beautiful landscapes. They have a tendency to not stick to trails and destroy new areas when they get board... they are loud and annoying. The Federal government should keep control in order to protect these areas from being destroyed by riders who don't think about the future or others... just their own enjoyment in the moment. Our state leaders are terrible with regards to the environment, I trust them less than the federal government. Keep Utah beautiful and wild.

I believe in reasonable access, but not at the cost of wildlife, fish and clean water. Those that are protesting are in fact loving the public lands to death. We need to allow the agencies that manage these lands a chance to do their jobs. People have forgotten that these lands belong to all americans not a select few who think they need to drive everywhere. Either we can stay on the trails and roads or we can continue to cause damage to the lands we enjoy through unmanaged recreation. I want to continue to be able to hunt and fish, and want my kids and grandkids to be able to enjoy it also.

Along the same lines as MJ's comment, here's something I came to realize all too well while living, and running a business in southern Utah that you folks in the counrty should consider.

Utah, having more National Parks than any other state, a great source of pride for us Utahns, get a large influx of tourists from around the world.

80% of Utah's tourist money is raised there, in southern Utah.

Yet, the area sees almost none of it, as 80% of the funds raised there are spent in northern Utah leaving the people that earned it out in the cold, surviving on the leftovers.

It's no wonder folks are confused about the issue.

Why would we atv'ers want to privatize the public lands? Talk about limiting access.

Where does the Constitution say that the land is State/local property?

What a bunch of dorks!

The Federal Reserve has been messing up the coutry since the the early 1030s and these recreationalists are unhappy they can't run roughshod over the open lands in Utah.

C'mon, what about the IRS?

What about the carrott and stick policies of the federal govt.

If anyone wants federal money, they have to do pony tricks to get it.

This is a country of entitlements and those 3,000 fake Americans crying on State Street want their share, too.

Get your guns and let's start over!!