The U.S. House of Representatives took the initial step on Tuesday to revoke a National Park Service rule that put restrictions on motorized vehicles in sections of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
It’s the latest in nearly two decades of controversy and legal challenges involving off-roaders, environmental groups and the National Park Service in the 1.25-million acre recreation area that encompasses Lake Powell.
Sponsored by Utah Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy, the resolution would overturn a National Park Service rule finalized earlier this year that restricts off-highway vehicles, like dirtbikes or ATVs, from driving on a handful of roads in Glen Canyon.
It’s a simple resolution, stating that the rule “shall have no force or effect.” It invokes the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to review and overturn federal rules.
The resolution cleared the House on Tuesday. It will still require approval from the Senate.
The rule only covers about 25 roads that amount to 26 miles inside the recreation area, according to Maloy’s office, which is roughly 6% of all the roads inside Glen Canyon’s borders. And those roads would still be accessible by conventional vehicles, like trucks, SUVs or Jeeps — just ATVs, side-by-sides, dirtbikes and other off-highway vehicles would be restricted.
Environmental groups say the rule is so niche that it’s a waste of Congress’ time. Plus, the small region covered by the rule is the recreation area’s most remote and pristine, and opening them up to smaller, more advanced vehicles risks further damage to the environment.
“They’re just closed to vehicles that have the ability to travel off road and cause severe damage,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, during the House floor debate on Tuesday.
But Maloy, along with motorized recreation advocates, say those roads allow for greater access to adjacent federally-controlled public land. The federal government didn’t consult the state or locals before finalizing the rule, she said — and even though the scope of the rule is small, Maloy argued it could hurt local economies.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on the ground in these areas with local elected officials,” she said Tuesday. “This goes in the wrong direction. Wayne and Garfield counties are counties that struggle in a state that otherwise thrives.”
Formed in 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a stretch of public land managed by the National Park Service that spills over into northern Arizona and borders multiple national parks and monuments, including Bears Ears, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands. The region sees millions of visitors each year, often drawn to Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir. In 2025, the National Park Service recorded more than 4.7 million recreation visits to Glen Canyon.
For years, controversy has simmered in Glen Canyon over motorized access. In 2005, environmental groups sued the National Parks Service over its loose regulation of off-road vehicles. The service settled in 2008 and agreed to develop an off-road vehicle management plan.
In 2021, the park service, under the first Trump administration, released a new plan opening up much of the recreation area to all kinds of motorized use. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance sued two years later, arguing the administration’s plan failed to take all of the environmental impacts into consideration — the National Park Service again settled, agreeing to close the Lake Powell shoreline to motorized use, unless water levels were “sustainable” and put restrictions on ATV and side-by-side use in certain areas.
That rule was finalized in January, affecting a small portion of the recreation area. It would prevent off-road vehicles and ATVs on segments of the Poison Spring Loop and a section of the Flint Trail, remote and challenging, yet popular, motorized routes in the recreation area. About 4,930 acres of shoreline were also covered.
Hanna Larsen, a staff attorney for the alliance, accused the House of undermining the park service and bowing to “extreme motorized recreation in some of the most remote and wild parts of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.”
“Rather than protect America’s crown jewels, the House has made it much more likely that treasured places such as the Orange Cliffs, Gunsight Butte, and Canyonlands National Park’s Maze District will be permanently impaired by noisy, destructive off-highway vehicles,” Larsen said in a statement.
Proponents of the resolution include local politicians and motorized advocacy groups like the Blue Ribbon Coalition, which appealed the rule. On Tuesday, the coalition’s executive director Ben Burr said the vote represents “a grand reopening of our public lands.”
“The trails in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that were closed through a questionable legal settlement provide unique recreation access to the Poison Spring trails and to Lake Powell,” he said. “We look forward to the Senate passing its version of this resolution, so that the American people can continue enjoying these trails for generations to come.”
This report was originally published at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
