Kingman Travel Management Plan environmental assessment released. Public commenting is open!

The Bureau of Land Management wants to hear from you! They want to hear from those who use these trails. They are giving the public an opportunity to voice their opinion. Inside this page, you will find detailed documents regarding studies and other information about the Kingman Travel Management Plan. The environmental assessment has been released and the BLM is requesting comments from the public.

We ask that you respectfully contact the Bureau of Land Management and voice your opinion concerning these two travel management plans. Otherwise, Ranchers, Prospectors, fishermen, off-road enthusiasts, Hunters, mountain bikers, photographers, the handicapped and so many others will lose access to our public lands and the places or things we enjoy the most. The Bureau of Land Management wants to close dirt trails on our public lands to motorized access. This will prevent access to many areas that outdoor enthusiasts, local Ranchers, and others rely upon. It doesn’t matter what your outdoor activity of choice is. Or if you just enjoy seeing photos of our gorgeous landscapes. THIS WILL AFFECT YOU!

The Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service is mandated to create travel networks and designate certain Trails for travel and limit or close others. BLM is recommending a 30% closure to all motorized access. Very few trails will be designated for equestrian, hiking, and mountain biking. Others will be closed altogether.

The Bureau of Land Management is required to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinion. Your opinion matters and will dictate the outcome of the Bureau of Land Management’s travel management plans. Please take the time to follow the links below and submit your comments via email, or US Postal Service. Contact information is included in each of the links I have provided.
Please see the most recent development with House Joint Resolution 44 that NOBODY has been talking about. It has CANCELED a lot of BLMs executive powers and returned them to the states, thus the people!

Current proposed Arizona road closures by BLM and what to do about them:

Most of these lands are used by miners, hikers, campers, hunters, and off-roaders. What BLM is doing is proposing changes to these currently accessible roads, or basically……..restricting your access to your lands. First of all, RS2477 (revised statute 2477) is a part of the original 1872 mining grant. In a nutshell, it states the roads and travel routes must remain open for exploration, mining, and usage. In 1976, Congress passed FLPMA, the Federal Lands Policy Management Act, and claim they now can close all the roads willy-nilly at their discretion. Well, not so fast BLM and USFS. Under RS2477, they cannot close any roads which predate 1976. If it is a road “created” after 1976, they can, prior to that, no they can’t, it’s really that simple.

Just two years ago, Utah took this issue all the way to their Supreme Court and the court ruled unanimously that RS2477 is valid and their roads must remain open and accessible for public use and for mining. Like Utah, the Arizona Congress and the political body decided to protect their public roads and took it a step further than Utah. They passed a bill telling the Federal Government they cannot close roads under RS2477. So in clear language, Arizona told the United States government, any roads in Arizona which predate 1976, will not be close by the Federal Government under the FLPMA period. End of story.

Arizona House Bill 2175 passed in April of 2015 and signed by Arizona’s Governor states just that. It prohibits the closure of these trails CLICK HERE to download HB2175

So what does all this mean? It means the Federal Government (BLM) has just given the middle finger to the state of Arizona, the residents, claim owners, and folks who like to use these roads and is saying we don’t care what you say, that you passed a bill and we are going to ignore a “grant” passed by Congress in 1872 and are proposing to close your roads anyway.

So what do the folks in Arizona do? Call the sponsors of HB2175, the bill which was passed telling the BLM they can’t close these roads, and ask these Congress folks what they are going to do about it. Make them stand up for you again. I would assume these politicians are going to be pretty upset the BLM is ignoring the laws they pass in this great state.

Here are the sponsors of HB2175 (the good guys who passed the bill on your behalf), call them today:

Rep Mark Finchem District 11
(602) 926-3122

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Author: Kevin Allard

Kevin is an American outdoorsman born and raised in rural Arizona who grew up exploring the Arizona backcountry with his father. Today, he and his son travel to the most remote regions of Arizona, scavenging for the remains of early western pioneers. As a lifelong outdoorsman, Kevin has learned to stick close to his roots while engaging in important advocacy work regarding motorized access to public lands. You can find his work in many local and nationwide publications, including The Western Journal, 4Low Magazine, and his website AZBackroads.com.