It's also a question of balance. There are places where solitude should reign supreme, where wildlife should be left alone, places where the sight, sound, and smell of internal combustion engines should not be found at all. Under America's Redrock Wilderness Act, fifteen percent of Utah's spectacular and incomparable landscapes would be preserved. ORV use is consistent with other uses of the land. Studies in Montana and Alberta, Canada show that as motorized use increases in an area, many nonmotorized users abandon heavily used trails to ORVs.
Hikers are a vocal minority of public land users.
In fact, non-motorized recreationists are the vast majority of public land users. Current BLM policy allows ORV use on pre-existing routes in WSAs. This policy should be changed to entirely close WSAs and proposed wilderness to ORV use. Only by closing these areas will wilderness resources, including solitude, wildlife habitat, water quality and other scientific values, be protected.