06/05/2026
TRUMP OPENS FEDERAL LANDS TO ATV RIDERS — RESTORING PUBLIC ACCESS AFTER DECADES OF GOVERNMENT LOCKOUT
President Trump just rescinded outdated 1970s executive orders that restricted motorized use on federal lands, delivering a major win for hardworking Americans who want real access to the public lands they own.
The Trump administration on Friday lifted restrictions dating back to Nixon’s EO 11644 and Carter’s 1977 update, which funneled ATVs, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles into limited areas while locking out everyday users.
Sweetwater County Commissioner Taylor Jones, an avid off-roader, cheered the move.
“Certainly, I’m thrilled,” Jones said. “I've always been a strong proponent for public access to public lands. There are a lot of areas in the national forest and in the mountains that should be open for access.”
Jones noted that current restrictions actually increase conflicts by concentrating users in small zones. Spreading access out, he said, will make it “easier to maintain balance” between different groups.
Dirt bike enthusiast Jason Harris of Lyman welcomed the change.
“If it means that I can ride my dirt bikes in some new places, then I’m stumping for it,” Harris said. He pointed out that lighter dirt bikes cause minimal impact, with vegetation recovering quickly, and celebrated less federal control over public lands.
Predictably, environmental activists are melting down. Sierra Club spokesman Nick Gevock called it a “terrible” idea that will supposedly push wildlife onto private land and spread weeds. Avid hiker Amber Travsky worried it gives too much freedom to off-roaders.
But the truth is simple: these are public lands, paid for by American taxpayers. For decades, bureaucrats and radical environmentalists treated them like private preserves for elites who want silence and restricted access. Trump is finally putting the public back in public lands.
This move prioritizes real multiple-use management over top-down closure. Americans who hunt, ride, and recreate outdoors are getting their access restored — and that’s exactly what public land should be.
