SW desert town favors quiet fun, turns down ORVs

Western town says yes to clean and quiet fun

UPDATE, 1/8/08: NYT editorial on 'Nature Overrun' by off-road vehicles.

NEWS, 12/30: NYT on off-road vehicle problems in the West.

TUCSON -- There was some good news earlier this month from Escalante, Utah, a small Garfield County town in the southern end of the state, where I and a beautiful woman lived in the summer of 2000, working to protect the adjacent BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Escalante said no to expansion of off-road vehicles in and around the town. This decision is wise and important in a time when BLM and some other Utah towns have made mistakes to encourage more off-roading, which brings in more landscape destruction, trash and crime.

The people of Escalante were wise to say no to more polluting, loud ATVs and instead focus on quiet recreation. This story is a sort of holiday gift for people working to protect America.

My family and I, and likely many other greens, will now make it more of a point to visit, enjoy and spend money in Escalante, Utah.

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holiday sports news: MSU bball looking good.