262 Road
Out to Recreation Road 262 West side of Lake Powell, Utah
by Todd Adams

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Getting there was not the problem, but then I am getting ahead of myself. We had chosen to go out to Recreation Road 262 on June 18th. The plan was to go all the way out on 262 to view Lake Powell from a few hundred feet up. So much for ‘our’ plan. If ‘you’ plan on doing Recreation Road 262 figure on spending the night or leaving before 9am like we did. But you had better hurry. The BLM is planning to close access, permitting only authorized vehicles to use the road. According to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Proposed Management Plan’s Final Environmental Impact Statement; not only will this road be closed at the top of Little Valley Canyon, but also the Paria River/Sheep Creek routes will be closed, among many others within the Monument!

This sign is at the start of the Hole in the Rock Trail, the Kaiparwits Plateau ( 50 Mile Mountain ) can be seen in the background.

The view from Croton Canyon to Lake Powell and Gunsight Butte

We started our day by heading East on the Hole in the Rock Road from Escalante about 14 miles then making a right turn onto Left hand Collet Canyon Road. Once on top of Kaiparowits Plateau we followed Collet Top Road Southeast and dropped down into Croton Canyon. At the bottom of Croton Canyon we headed east to the top of Little Valley Canyon where the fun began.

The start down into Little Valley Canyon ( Linda is behind the wheel of RED YJ )

There is a cattle gate and corral going into and out of Little Valley Canyon. We would find out how important it is to follow the “gate open gate closed” rule on the return trip. ( This is where the road will now end to unauthorized vehicles ) I would rate the descent into and ascent out of Little Valley Canyon a 4+ in both directions. Big tires and lockers were of great help to us in the quick work ( 1/2 hr.) to get through.

By the time we reached the intersection of Recreation Road 262 it was already 3pm. We figured if we left right then, we would get back to camp in Escalante around 9pm. Not wanting to spent the night we decided to turn around without going the additional 10 miles to the end of Grand Bench along Recreation Road 262. When we got to the West side of Little Valley Canyon there was a friend waiting for us. A ranchers’ horse wanted nothing more than to for us to let him out of the gate. I had to keep him back while opening the gate to let our two Jeeps go through while making sure he stayed in. We never did see the owner but I knew I would be in trouble if I let the horse get out of the corral.

A look back at the west side of Little Valley Canyon

David in FN YJ making short work of Little Valley Canyon

The view looking out, part way up the dugway, on the Smoky Mountain Road.

After leaving Little Valley Canyon we took Recreation Road 230 which goes around to top of Last Chance Bay and joins up with the Smoky Mountain Road. The Smoky Mountains got their name from the continual smoke coming from natural coal fires underground in the area causing a haze. Hence the Smoky Mountain name. The ascent up the dugway to the top of the plateau is breathtaking to say the least along the Smoky Mountain Road. The rest of the trip back to camp was uneventful over the flat topped plateau.

We have little time to make any protests to the Environmental Impact Statement. This document can be viewed at http://www.ut.blm.gov/monument/Plan/feis/feis.html   In my view not only does the closure of these roads violate the RS 2477 statute, but will deny access to the roads that will remain open within Glen Canyon National Recreation area. Protests should be sent to the following address no later than August 30th 1999. We do not have much time. To gage how important your comments to the GSENM were, only those persons making comments prior to this are eligible to protest! The same is true with 1999 BLM wilderness inventory EIS which will be out in a few months.

http://www.ut.blm.gov/monument/Plan/feis/Preface/feis_protest.html

Following is my letter to the BLM in protest to the Proposed Management Plan of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Director, Bureau of Land Management
Ms. Brenda Williams, Protests Coordinator
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
1849 C Street NW
WO-210/LS-1075
Department of the Interior Washington, DC 20240

Dear Ms. Williams,

Since writing my first letter to the BLM concerning the Grand Staircase-Escalante Nation Monument, during the Draft Management Plan scoping period, I have had a chance to spend some time within the monument. My initial comments were concerning access for motorized vehicles and that no changes at all met with the Presidents’ Decree that no historical uses of the monument would be changed. I can see that much of the monument needs to be protected and that cross country travel should not be allowed, but there are a number of road closures that violate valid existing rights of way. One of these roads that will be closed to all but a few denies access to the road system on Grand Bench within the Glen Canyon Nation Recreation area. The road going down into Little Valley Canyon at N37deg.14.134min. W111deg.16.705min. is proposed as an ‘Administrative Road’. This road leads to recreational opportunities on Grand Bench which cannot be denied to motor vehicles and is a well established RS2477 right of way. In addition these roads show up on all maps of the area. In short, The Management Plan cannot close access to Recreation Road 262 inside of Glen Canyon Nation Recreation Area.

After having traveled the Sheep Creek/Paria River route I believe the closure of this way, traveled for the last 100 years, violates RS2477. Limited motor vehicle travel along this route has not changed or affected the ecosystem as some fear. This route is still used today by the local residents of the area as a shortcut. Since no one can scientifically prove that the absence of motorized vehicles along this route will have any influence to the ecosystem, it needs to remain open and the ‘Wild and Scenic ’ designation be dropped along this valid existing right of way. The whole idea of ‘Administrative Roads’ is a violation of rights for the average citizen. If you are going to close the road so that it can be reclaimed by nature, that is one thing, but to leave the road accessible to only a few is wrong. One of the existing uses of these roads is for recreation and to allow only BLM Enforcement and a few others access to these roads violates the Presidential Decree. If you want to limit or control access, simply put a permit system in place along these roads, so that we can all enjoy this beautiful new monument.

Sincerely,

Todd Adams

Todd is the Resident Master Mechanic on 4X4EXPERTS

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