Utah residens become next to confront Bureau of Land Management, in growing ...

A band of Utah residents plan Saturday to ride all-terrain vehicles onto federally managed public land to protest the federal Bureau of Land Management closing off the area.

The protest comes weeks after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's successful standoff against the agency over grazing rights and appears to be the latest episode in the battle across the West over states' rights on federally managed public lands.

In Blanding, Utah, in the state's scenic southeastern, the protesters and their supporters say the agency has unfairly closed off a prized area, cheating them of outdoor recreation, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The ride is being organized by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman to assert local control of the region, known as Recapture Canyon.

However, federal officials say the region, known for its archaeological ruins, has been jeopardized from overuse.

The canyon was closed to motor vehicles in 2007after two men forged an illegal seven-mile trail. But hikers and those on horseback are still allowed there, according to the agency.

Governments in Western states are trying to get more control over vast tracts of federally owned land in large part because they say the land could be strategically developed to help boost local economies.

Supporter of the decades-old movement also say local governments are better suited to manage the land, considering in part the federal government is understaffed to manage the acreage.

Lyman and his supporters want the BLM to act more quickly on a years-old request for a public right-of-way through the area.

The Blanding protest being spearheaded by a local public official, not a resident, also appears to be a sign of the growing frustrations in a rural county composed of nearly 90 percent public lands managed by the BLM.

Environmental groups have spoken out in support of the BLM, saying that fragile Recapture Canyon must be protected.

Earlier this week, BLM officials notified Lyman that any illegal foray in the area would bring consequences such as citations and arrest. And two men wearing hooded sweatshirts brandished a handgun at a BLM worker driving an agency vehicle, holding up a sign that read, 'You need to die.'

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