May 2026 - Monthly Meeting

Written By Marcus Trusty

OneVoice conducted its May meeting covering federal land management updates, with significant focus on BLM San Rafael travel management re-release (June 8 comment deadline), Blue Mountains Forest Plan revision concerns, and widespread agency staffing disruptions affecting recreation access initiatives.

Decisions Made

  • San Rafael Swell/Desert comments approach: Recommend requesting agencies restart planning process rather than selecting alternatives, citing inadequate inventories and failure to meet new Explore Act data requirements

  • Great American Expedition strategy: Hold internal discussion before wider distribution to ensure Stay the Trail organization can leverage the program rather than letting other groups claim credit

  • Blue Mountains engagement: OneVoice submitted formal comments on forest plan revision opposing 68,000-acre wilderness expansion and grazing reductions

Federal Agency Issues

BLM Leadership Turnover

  • Colorado: Four state directors in three weeks; current director has been in position less than one week

  • Nevada: State director recently resigned; similar departures occurring across multiple states

  • Travel restrictions: New BLM leadership restricting staff travel heavily, preventing field office personnel from attending events even when funded by OHV grants; OneVoice engaged in discussions to restore flexibility

Forest Service Challenges

  • Career staff resistance: Despite chief's pro-access directives, certain Forest Service elements continue stalling priority initiatives and pursuing closure-oriented approaches

  • Anticipated retirements: Expect significant upper-level departures during D.C. transition, affecting both friendly and unfriendly personnel

  • Region 1 roadless defiance: Lolo National Forest deputy supervisor stated they have "all sorts of designations" to maintain roadless areas regardless of rule status, dismissing legal requirements

Active Comment Periods

San Rafael Swell and Desert (Utah)

  • Deadline: June 8, 2025

  • Duration: 30 days maximum

  • Recommendation: Request complete restart; inventories inadequate before litigation, not improved after, cannot support new Explore Act requirements

  • OneVoice comments: Scott preparing brief organizational comments

Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (Oregon)

  • Public meetings: June 1-10 across Pendleton, Baker City, John Day

  • Timeline: Process ongoing approximately 15 years since 2010

  • Issues: 68,000-acre wilderness expansion despite promises of no new wilderness; grazing reductions; suitable timber base removal; Chris French remanded previous version in 2018-2019 for inadequate data

  • Agency capacity gaps: Cannot provide basic data on campsites, road miles, trail miles despite ranking 8th nationally for developed camping

  • Regional interference: Portland regional office driving process over local forest supervisor objections

Pending Confirmation

  • National roadless rule: No outreach received; awaiting guidance on how case-by-case WSA-style process will function without national rule

  • Moab decision: Expected August release

  • Explore Act implementation: Forests moving forward with plans despite lack of guidance on recreation requirements and unique site identification mandates

  • Congressional action timeline: Only 23 working days between now and August recess; RTP likely receiving existing policy extension rather than improvements

Regional Updates

California OHV Safety Bill (AB 1613)

  • Status: Passed California Assembly with narrow Democratic support; moving to Senate

  • Coalition history: Multi-year stakeholder process produced "Version 8" draft modeled on Utah; original language introduced outside coalition process

  • Senate amendments needed:

    • Clarify mixed-use vehicle applicability (street-legal vehicles in OHV areas)

    • Preserve OHMVR division lead role, avoid DMV bureaucracy expansion

    • Emphasize education over fines; violations trigger course completion, resource damage adds mandatory skills training

    • Maintain 5-year renewal cycle with low-cost option

    • Establish reciprocity for out-of-state OHV certificates

  • Unexpected support: Desert Tortoise Advisory Council endorsed program as beneficial for recreation management and resource protection

Colorado Teller County Enforcement

  • Background: Large OHV groups creating dangerous conditions (loud music, illegal firearms, illegal campfires, reckless driving, DUI violations)

  • Forest Service refusal: Pikes Peak/Isabel National Forest declined sheriff's request for assistance, citing unwillingness to work with ICE or target specific groups

  • County response: Sheriff implemented zero-tolerance OHV task force; 16 arrests over Memorial Day weekend plus multiple citations for reckless/careless driving and DUI

  • Displacement effect: Enforcement pushing problems to neighboring counties rather than solving issues; users avoiding Teller County due to sheriff reputation

  • Systemic enforcement gaps: FPOs (Forest Protection Officers) prevented from writing tickets due to safety protocols; upper management not supporting violations/citations due to court loss concerns

Montana Trail Safety

  • Barbed wire incident: Someone strung barbed wire across motorized trail over Memorial Day weekend; young rider hit wire but not seriously injured

  • Response meeting: Pipestone meeting scheduled with Fish Wildlife and Parks, Forest Service, and BLM to discuss prevention measures

  • Enforcement capacity: Forests have one LEO per 1.8 million acres; BLM has three LEOs for 2.3 million acres

Pennsylvania Allegheny National Forest

  • RAC staffing crisis: Resource Advisory Council lacks quorum; insufficient members to conduct meetings

  • Event cancellation: Lost American National Enduro Championships (Rattlesnake) at Cross Fork due to state DCNR permit denial; significant economic impact on 60-person community

  • Recovery window: Can miss one event year and revive; missing two-three years causes permanent relocation

Strategic Opportunities

Roadless Rule Partnerships

  • Conservation group alignment: Middle-of-road conservation organizations reached out regarding roadless rescission; concerns align with OneVoice positions; potential for unique partnerships on functional ground-level rule

Great American Expedition

  • Department of Interior program: Multi-stop national initiative in development

  • Strategic positioning: OneVoice holding details to maximize Stay the Trail participation and ensure proper credit attribution

Education and Outreach

  • CBU grant: $19,000 received for educational literature targeting grades K-12 in rural communities covering ATV/snowmobile use, Tread Lightly, Leave No Trace principles

  • Resource requests: Seeking existing materials from International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, Novak Adventure Trail materials, Stay the Trail youth resources to avoid starting from scratch

  • Media partnership opportunity: Trinity Bandenaker's "Life in the West" podcast (1 million subscribers) covering wolf/grizzly issues, biodiversity credits, foreign investment; potential OneVoice interview opportunity

Legislative Developments

Abundant Wildland Study Area Act (Draft)

  • Author: Trinity Bandenaker (High Lonesome Society)

  • Approach: Offensive legislation positioning recreation/grazing/logging advocates to demonstrate wildlife benefits of active management versus preservation

  • Status: Draft form requiring refinement; Carrie seeking OneVoice review and potential Capitol Hill sponsorship through Mike Lee or similar

Endangered Species Act Revisions

  • Status: Still in development; no significant movement reported

Western Congressional Caucus Bills

  • Progress: Bundle advancing in House with hearings held; no viable Senate path identified given current composition

RAC System Challenges

  • Term limits: Members termed out and restricted from reapplying, causing staffing shortages in regions with limited applicant pools

  • Quorum requirements: Forest Service RACs require 3 members from each of 3 categories (9 total) for valid meetings; some RACs unable to meet for nearly one year

  • Appointment delays: Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service) or Interior (BLM) appointments taking years; Scott applied for southern RAC snowmobile representative 2.5 years ago with no response

  • Regional variation: Some RACs function as advisory only; others (like Carrie's experience) effectively allocate funding with agency acceptance of recommendations

  • Support needed: Pennsylvania seeking guidance on RAC development process; OneVoice can connect with national RAC members for advice

Next Meeting: June 2025 (specific date to be announced)

Marcus Trusty
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