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Far from seeking balance, Utah and its politicians are doing what they believe they do best: trying to get back at the government.

A recent opinion piece by Governor Spencer Cox and Redge Johnson, director of the Utah Public Land Policy Coordinating Office, got two things right: Utah’s public lands are the envy of the nation (if not the world) and we need to find a balanced approach to when and where motorized vehicles are allowed to operate on those lands. That’s essentially where our agreement ends.

Maybe the governor and the warden don’t get out in the country that often, because if they did, they’d know that motorized use has exploded in Utah’s wildest parts over the past 20 years. There are more than 200,000 off-road vehicles (ORVs) registered in Utah, including dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and side-by-sides (also known as UTVs). That number doesn’t include ORVs that are trailered in from other states.

The fact is, today’s vehicles are so powerful that they can go farther into the backcountry than ever before, and it’s hard to escape the sight and noise of dirt bikes, side-by-sides and ATVs in places like San Rafael Swell, Dirty Devil and Labyrinth Canyon. That means families visiting these iconic public lands to enjoy some peace and quiet and a night under the stars are instead displaced by clouds of dust, the roar of engines echoing off the canyon walls and the damage these vehicles leave on the ground.

To address this issue, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency that manages approximately 23 million acres of public lands in Utah, is updating several plans that determine which dirt roads and trails will remain open to motorized vehicles and which will remain closed to that specific use.

One of the plans recently completed by the BLM was for the Labyrinth Canyon/Gemini Bridges area outside Moab, a landscape popular with mountain bikers, ATV riders, river runners, and hikers. In other words, a place with competing uses, interests, and expectations. After two years of work — including holding public meetings, receiving thousands of public comments, and coordinating with local and state officials — the BLM came up with a plan that left over 800 miles of roads and trails open to motorized vehicles while closing just over 300 miles. The majority of the 300 miles closed to motorized vehicles protects the Labyrinth Canyon corridor — a congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River and a unique place in the American West where families can enjoy multi-day canoe or raft trips on calm waters in a massive red rock canyon.

How did Governor Cox and Director Johnson describe this years-long public process? “Just last September, the BLM unilaterally closed 317 miles of roads and trails on public lands near Moab.” Unilaterally? Hardly. Such exaggerations make it difficult to trust their statements.

The governor and director go on to say that the state of Utah is “not trying to build more roads. That (argument) is simply misinformation and untrue.” However, they are trying to build more roads, and that is hardly misinformation.

In its recently finalized travel plan for a remote corner of the backcountry known as the San Rafael Desert, the BLM “blocked” just over 100 miles of lines on a map that simply didn’t exist on the ground. Utah, for its part, acknowledged that these lines were merely “paper routes (i.e. routes visible only on maps but recreated on the ground)” but has sued the decision anyway. Rather than seeking balance, Utah and its leaders are doing what they believe is best: They’re trying to “get back at” the authorities.

And let’s talk facts. There are tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails of all shapes and sizes on Utah’s public lands (BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, and various state lands like state parks) that will remain open to motorized vehicles no matter what happens with the BLM’s ongoing trip planning efforts. Ensuring access to trailheads, overlooks, campgrounds, and countless popular hiking trails is important and something the BLM appears to take seriously. What is significantly less serious are elected officials attempting to use disabled and elderly Utahns as a basis to tie the BLM’s hands as it works to mitigate the impacts of motorized vehicles while continuing to ensure access to public lands.

This is something we have in common with Governor Cox, Director Johnson, and frankly most Utahns: We all feel fortunate to call this place home. Utah’s red rock wilderness in particular is breathtakingly beautiful, and it’s no surprise that people want to visit and experience it. With a little forethought and planning, the BLM’s new travel plans will ensure there are opportunities to do so now and for years to come.

Steve Bloch is the legal director and Laura Peterson is an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). SUWA is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from across the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, a team of professionals defends the redrock wilderness, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and maintains a world-famous landscape.

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