SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge gave the Bureau of Land Management up to three years to conduct a phased inventory of 4,000 miles of off-highway vehicle routes in south central Utah.

In a "remedy" order issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball, the BLM was directed to undertake a new analysis of archaeological sites and artifacts and potential impacts to them from OHV use in the 1.9 million-acre area.

Kimball said that the inventory must take place within one to three years depending on the specific geographic area and be accompanied by an annual report documenting OHV impacts.

"Without evidence that the designated routes are supported by the minimization criteria and without any study of the impacted historical artifacts, harm could occur to the area at any time that the proper designations are not in place and the court believes expedited action is required," Kimball wrote.

The order follows a November 2013 decision by Kimball that tossed out portions of the Richfield Resource Management Plan's designation of OHV routes that was adopted in 2008. The area is mostly sandwiched between Capitol Reef National Park and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and includes Dirty Devil Canyon complex, the Henry Mountains and Factory Butte.

Kimball, in issuing that ruling, agreed with a coalition of environmental groups that the plan violated the National Historic Preservation Act by failing to take into account the impact of the OHV routes on archaeological sites. The judge also ruled the BLM did not properly weigh whether the Henry Mountains area is of "critical environmental concern," or whether Happy Canyon, and Buck and Pasture Canyon deserve protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

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The ruling did not undo or prohibit current OHV use while the matter is settled, or return the area's status to pre-2008 access, when 77 percent of the acreage had unrestricted access.

Instead, Kimball let the current plan remain in place, reasoning that a drastic overhaul would create confusion for the public and possibly result in more harm to the environment, natural resources and wildlife.

In its inventory of designated OHV routes, the BLM must prove that the trails meet the "minimization criteria" for impacts on archaeological sites.

Environmental groups have mounted legal challenges to all six resource management plans adopted in 2008 under the Bush era, with Richfield the first to receive its day in court.

Kimball's ruling, they argue, lends credence to their claims that the plans sacrificed the environment at the expense of activities like OHV use, resource extraction and other uses.

"These important decisions flatly reject Utah BLM’s ‘designate trails first, think later’ approach to off-road vehicle management,” said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

“By setting forth strict timelines for BLM to undertake long overdue inventories for cultural sites and prepare necessary environmental analyses, the court has sent a clear message that the status quo is not acceptable. Utah’s remarkable red rock landscapes demand better,” he said.

The groups are hopeful that the ruling and now the timeline for the inventory will be more protective of critical archaeological resources in the area.

"BLM’s refusal to conduct on-the-ground inventories for cultural resources that are being damaged and destroyed from off-road vehicle use was shocking,” said Bill Hedden, executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust. "Federal law requires BLM to do more to protect these irreplaceable cultural treasures and we’re pleased that the judge ordered BLM to do so.” Email: amyjoi@deseretnews.com Twitter: amyjoi16

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