BLM: Trump order did not automatically reopen closed public-land routes

The Bureau of Land Management says President Donald Trump’s May 29 federal-lands access order did not automatically reopen public-land roads or trails that are currently closed to off-highway vehicles.

In Instruction Memorandum 2026-023, dated July 20 and transmitted to BLM offices on July 23, the agency directed field officials to continue applying current off-highway vehicle regulations and existing area, road and trail designations while it prepares a formal rulemaking. The interim guidance applies immediately to ongoing and newly initiated travel-and-transportation-management planning.

What BLM changed

The memorandum changes internal planning and review procedures during the rulemaking period. BLM offices must continue route inventories, public participation and analysis of travel-management alternatives under the National Environmental Policy Act and other applicable laws.

Before signing a travel-management plan or an individual route-designation decision, field offices must coordinate with the BLM Director’s Office. The memorandum also supersedes conflicting direction in BLM Manual 1626 and Handbook H-8342 while the agency works on revisions to its off-highway vehicle regulations.

BLM describes the document as interim guidance, not a final rule. It is an internal instruction for agency personnel and does not create a legal right to use a route that is currently closed.

What the May order did

Executive Order 14408, signed May 29, rescinded Executive Orders 11644 and 11989, which established federal policies concerning off-road vehicle use on public lands. It directed the Interior Department, Agriculture Department and other relevant agencies to begin rulemakings to rescind or revise regulations adopted to implement those earlier orders.

The White House said the change would reduce restrictions it considers unnecessary and expand access, recreation and multiple-use opportunities. The order also says implementation must remain consistent with applicable law and that it creates no enforceable right or benefit.

That distinction matters because rescinding an executive order does not, by itself, erase agency regulations adopted under existing statutory authority. BLM says its regulations in 43 CFR Part 8340 remain in effect while the rulemaking proceeds.

What remains in place

Current BLM area, road and trail designations remain effective unless BLM revises them through Part 8340 and other applicable legal requirements. A road or trail marked closed therefore remains closed unless the responsible BLM office completes the process for changing that designation.

The memorandum does not eliminate environmental review or public participation. BLM offices are directed to keep analyzing travel-management alternatives under NEPA and other applicable laws. The memo says the analysis should focus on the impacts of the alternatives, while the commonly called “minimization criteria” in 43 CFR 8342.1 generally should be addressed in the decision document rather than the supporting NEPA analysis, unless a court order or settlement agreement requires otherwise.

Wildlife, habitat, cultural-resource and recreation concerns therefore remain part of the applicable review, even as the administration pursues a different policy direction on access and multiple use.

The order also does not establish identical rules for every federal land agency. The new memorandum directly addresses BLM planning. National parks and other federal lands may be governed by separate agency authorities, regulations and management plans.

How the process looks on the ground

BLM’s Utah planning work shows why the change will not produce an immediate nationwide opening of routes. In an announcement dated June 22, the agency described three travel-management initiatives covering more than 816,000 acres of public land.

The projects are at different stages. BLM released preliminary alternatives for the Dolores River plan in southeastern Utah and said it expected a draft environmental assessment for public review in fall or winter 2026. The Trail Canyon plan had a draft environmental assessment and a 30-day comment period running from June 22 through July 22. The Dinosaur North plan had a 30-day comment period running from June 22 through July 23.

The initiatives involve proposed open, limited and closed designations. They are planning actions, not final promises that particular routes will open or close. They illustrate the process BLM says will continue under the interim directive: inventory routes, study alternatives, receive public input and issue decisions under the applicable rules.

What to watch next

The next major policy milestone is a proposed BLM rulemaking revising the agency’s off-highway vehicle regulations. After any final rule, field offices would apply the new requirements through travel-management plans and individual route decisions. Updated maps, public-comment notices and contested decisions could follow.

For recreation users, the practical advice is unchanged: check the relevant BLM field-office map, project page and current closure notices before riding or driving. The May order may influence future access decisions, but it has not reopened a currently closed BLM road or trail.

Sources

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