St. George BLM Will Look at OHV Routes

St. George, Utah - January 21, 2005 - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will amend the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) to consider changes to existing Off-highway Vehicle (OHV) area designations and to designate routes for OHVs and other motorized vehicles. The planning area includes approximately 629,000 acres of public land within Washington County, Utah.

BLM’s St. George Field Office Manager, Jim Crisp, said, "The public needs to know where they can legally and safely ride on public lands. This OHV amendment will finish important work not completed in the 1999 land use plan."

Interested people and representatives of agencies, businesses, organizations and tribes are invited to open house meetings where BLM will start gathering information. Meetings are set for Wednesday, February 2, 2005, at the Exhibit Hall, Washington County Fairgrounds in Hurricane, Utah from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Thursday, February 3, 2005, at the Holiday Inn, 850 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

"BLM will work with interested groups, organizations, and agencies at al levels to come up with the best plan possible for route designations in the county. That will include the latest state and federal strategies for OHV management throughout Utah," said Crisp.

BLM is seeking ideas and information from the public during the planning process from January 3rd to March 4th during the formal scoping period. Public participation is important because BLM will use the information shared to prepare the plan amendment.

The Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Amend the RMP for OHV Management in the St. George Field Office was published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2005.

There will be other opportunities for the public to share information with BLM. For more details, people should go to the plan amendment website at www.stgeorgeohvplan.com  or contact BLM at (435) 688- 3201.

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