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LARAMIE – Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and the Wyoming Wilderness Association today filed an appeal in the Interior Board of Land Appeals challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to designate routes in the McCullough Peaks proposed wilderness for Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) use. In addition to designating over a hundred miles of routes for motor vehicle use in surrounding lands, the Travel Management Plan designates approximately 24 miles of vehicles ways for motorized use within the lands proposed for wilderness.

"The agency’s long-term plan for the Cody Field Office directs the BLM to manage for both motorized and primitive recreation,” said Erik Molvar of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “But instead of working for a balance of recreation opportunities, the BLM decided to manage for ATV use in the only proposed wilderness in over a million acres of federal land.”

The McCullough Peaks badlands are a fragile desert area in the Bighorn Basin of north-central Wyoming, with steep slopes, delicate vegetation, and soil that is susceptible to erosion. The BLM’s analysis indicates that off-route travel by motorized vehicles is currently causing significant damage in the McCullough Peaks area.

“Public lands management of de facto wilderness should be held in trust for all Americans,” added Liz Howell of the Wyoming Wilderness Association. “Instead, this administration is handing over our most sensitive and pristine landscapes to a few. The protection of only 54,000 acres out of over a million is not much to ask, but condoning this invasion of motorcycles and 4 wheelers into the stunning McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area is a travesty.”

Photos of the McCullough Peaks are available for publication (photos by Erik Molvar):

• A photo of the Wilderness Study Area
• A photo of the unprotected wilderness lands