With President Trump signing Executive Order 14408, which eliminated Executive Order 11644, federal agencies no longer have any authority whatsoever to designate areas closed to cross-country travel.
Federal agencies must now initiate rulemakings to remove and eliminate the regulations that allow them to close roads, conduct travel management planning, and prohibit cross-country travel.
Without Executive Order 11644 and the associated federal regulations, there is absolutely no legal basis for any road closures on public lands whatsoever.
I cannot wait to participate in this rulemaking process. What a great time to be alive!
Go out there and enjoy those trails! I can think of a few that need to be traveled and reestablished.
I suggest that everyone pick up 7.5-minute USGS maps from the 1970s and 1980s and quickly go reestablish those old trails that were stolen from us.
They are still valid and existing rights-of-way that were established under Section 8 of the Mining Act of 1866. The right to establish those roads was granted at large by the U.S. Congress to every U.S. citizen. They are governed under state laws, and in Arizona they are partially governed by the county.
You can now legally reestablish those old trails.
