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Factory Butte, Utah - Protecting The Winkler and Wright fishhook cacti
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There currently is lots of controversy about access to Factory Butte. Located near Capitol Reef National Park, it has been a magnet for years for off highway vehicles. It is many times described as a barren moonscape, or a towering monolith. For years people have had almost unlimited access, until now!
Bob Therrien is a travel writer and has traveled all over North America. He currently operates the website at http://www.adventurezonetours.com
Author: Bob Therrien
http://www.factorybutteutah.com
Factory Butte Recreational Area, Utah is near Capital Reef National Park in Wayne County, Utah and seen off of highway 24. Currently there is much discussion on how to protect its unique badlands. Much of the discussion is on how to control erosion from ORV’s (off road vehicles). The concern is damage to the crust of the Mancos shale. The BLM announced fall of 2006 that it was limiting some motorized travel to designated routes while keeping a popular off-highway recreational area open to cross-country travel.
The area offers opportunity for hiking, canyoneering, camping, cycling in addition to the ATV’s and 4WD vehicles. The lands are administered by the BLM. The BLM has noted the rare species of fishhook cactus growing in the San Rafael Swell in the north to east of the Waterpocket Fold in the south. Unique formations include Mancos Shale, Morrison, Dakota, Carmel, Entrada, Moenkopi and Curtis.
The Richfield, Utah Bureau of Land Management announced in Sept, 2006 that some limiting of the area was now in place to protect two endangered species of cacti from recreational impacts. The BLM also announced that there were still lots of fun area, from challenging terrain to easy-riding scenic loops to the 2,600-acre “open play area” at Swing Arm City.
OHV riders will be able to access points throughout the 148,500-acre Factory Butte area on the extensive network of designated routes that run from the Emery County line in the north to the Garfield County line to the south, and from Capitol Reef National Park on the west to Skyline Rim on the east. Other motorized opportunities exist at Factory Butte for everything from passenger car touring to single-track motorcycling.
Many locals and people from surrounding states who are avid off-roaders who worship Factory Butte’s wide-open terrain are angry about the new rules. It’s easy to see why. These wide open badlands are well suited for dirt bikes, and ATV’s. The out of this world landscape is one draw. It’s one of the largest, most spectacular badlands on the Colorado plateau. There are miles and miles of rolling hills that the wind shaped the Mancos shale soil into a rider’s paradise.
Utah is one of the last Western states still largely wide-open for travel on public lands. The BLM controls nearly half of Utah, and offers more than 70,000 miles of dirt roads, tracks and trails.
Research, read and share trip reports and pics here.
Activities to Enjoy: |
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| Hiking | Golf | ATVs | Boating |
| Camping | Ice Skating | Biking | Rafting |
| Hunting | Wildlife | Fall Colors | Scenic Drives |
| Museums | Lakes/Rivers | Snowmobiling | Dog Sledding |
| Horseback Riding | Fresh Water Fishing | ||
| Climbing/Canyoneering | Festivals/State Fairs | ||
| Alpine & Nordic Skiing/Snowboarding | |||
National Parks, State Parks, National Monuments, and Wilderness Areas, All in One Website!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR NATIONAL PARKS -
On AdventureZoneTOURS.com
Cedar City, UT (February 27, 2007) The good news is that the United States of America has protected some of the most unique and incredible places to see on earth, and to encourage visitors, AdventureZoneTOURS.com brings all the parks, monuments, and wilderness areas into one online message board where people can share information about these fantastic outdoors resources.
The bad news is that the National Parks face a budget crisis. Struggling to protect the historic, cultural and natural resources, the parks are short of funds for operating facilities, repairs to roads, bridges, trails and buildings. In 2006, a $814 million shortfall was reported. With the National Park Service covering almost 400 protected areas, NPS has fewer employees to service the growing number of visitors per year. Over 273,000,000 people visited the National Parks in 2005, with reports of declining visitors. AdventureZoneTOURS.com fills in the gap where information on locations and services are currently lacking. Instead of contacting a variety of parks or wilderness areas to compile your trip, now planning and previewing a vacation or adventure is just a click away on AdventureZoneTOURS.COM.
In a recent trend, volunteering has become very popular with more people willing to offer their time or vacation in assisting the parks and outdoor organizations with clean up, rebuilding trails and other important tasks. AdventureZoneTOURS.com not only features a message board for each region of every state but under the category Special Interests members are invited to post messages for volunteer opportunities or find links to the volunteer opportunity just right for them.
Bob Therrien, President of TrainingPASS Sales, Inc., creator of AdventureZoneTOURS.com, outdoor writer, and constant traveler commented, “Over the years, the hardest part for me has been the research about which parks, hikes, climbs, guides I want to visit with my family and friends. Exploring site after site, then mapping the distance from each area of interest is inefficient and many times lacking in information. To solve that inefficiency we (AdventureZoneTOURS.com) have collected all the basic information about our parks, wilderness areas and national monuments into one website. We’re still working on the mapping solution right now, so that a visitor can visually see just a region of a state and distances between multiple areas of interest. AdventureZoneTOURS.com is an outdoors recreation message board that now needs real trip reports from people who love these parks and are willing to share information on their special places.”
The Outdoor Adventure Message Board opens up to reveal historic park photos and a listing of U.S. States separated into travel regions. Click on search to find your park or any state region and there are sub forums for all the parks, monuments and wilderness areas in that region. You’ll find links to park maps, webcams and several interesting choices to pick from within a state region. Choose just the park to visit or check special interest message boards for posts on volunteer opportunities and travel for women only, men, training retreats, or shuttle posts.
For the activity-specific minded, AdventureZoneTOURS.com encourages users to share trip reports for a variety of outdoor activities from hiking, climbing, canyoneering, geo exploring, photography, ghost towns, mines, and cave to water sports such as boating, fishing, jet and water skiing, tubing, rafting, and scuba. Winter travel sports locations for snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding are featured. Hunting locations, ATV and horseback trails as well as the most scenic areas for outdoor photography are also available as individual topic posts. To research or share your favorite adventure travel location, and for more information, log on to www.AdventureZoneTOURS.com.