Republican lawmakers have voted to repeal a Biden administration rule limiting the use of motor vehicles in environmentally sensitive areas within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
In a 219-205 vote, House lawmakers on Tuesday voted to overturn National Park Service regulations governing the use of motor vehicles, off-highway vehicles, and all-terrain vehicles located in the national park, which spans 1,254,117 acres in northern Arizona and southeastern Utah.
Former President Joe Biden’s rule “leaves locals with less open spaces to recreate on – in a National Recreation Area,” Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “I introduced this resolution to ensure Glen Canyon Recreation Area is managed for multiple uses, including recreation, as Congress directed.”
The final rule, published in January, updated the National Park Service’s 2021 regulation. It prohibits off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles on 24 miles of park roads. It also eliminates the superintendent’s authority to allow ORVs and ATVs on the upper portion of the Flint Trail. The rule also implements stricter quiet hours for some areas of the park.
The fight over motor vehicle use in the national park area has been years in the making. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, NPS finalized a management plan to address off-road vehicles, but it allowed all types to drive on Lake Powell’s shorelines and some remote routes.
In March 2023, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance sued over Trump’s NPS plan, arguing that it violated federal law by failing to consider environmental effects. SUWA and the National Parks Conservation Association, which sued separately, entered into a settlement agreement a year later with NPS to require the agency to issue a new regulation.
The rule was proposed in September 2024 and finalized in January.
“The agency’s rule updates Glen Canyon’s motorized vehicle regulations to provide stronger protections for some of the area’s most scenic, fragile, and special places while still balancing opportunities for both motorized and non-motorized recreation,” SUWA wrote in a statement last week, calling for people to tell Congress to vote “no” on the resolution.
“The new rule makes Glen Canyon a quieter, wilder place and helps ensure that both the recreation area and national park are preserved for future generations,” it added.
SENATE VOTES TO END ENERGY DEPARTMENT STANDARDS FOR GAS WATER HEATERS
House Republicans passed the bill using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn a federal regulation by a simple majority vote.
Once a rule is voted on in both chambers and signed by the president, the agency cannot propose a similar rule. In recent months, House Republicans have aimed to use this special legislative process to undo many Biden administration energy and climate regulations.
