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SALT LAKE CITY — A San Juan County commissioner who organized a ride to protest the federal government's closure of an ATV trail in southeastern Utah pleaded not guilty along with four others Friday to misdemeanor charges.
Federal prosecutors charged the five men, including Commissioner Phil Lyman, with one count of conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles and one count of operation of off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles.
"These are God-fearing Americans who want to enjoy the great outdoors, especially the great outdoors right outside their back door," said Nathan Crane, an attorney representing Monte Jerome Wells.
Also charged are Jay Demar Redd, Shane Morris Marian and Franklin Trent Holliday.
This spring, Lyman told reporters he organized the ride in San Juan County's Recapture Canyon to protest the decreasing access to ATV trails on public land.
The Bureau of Land Management declared the area off-limits to all-terrain vehicles because off-roading was causing damage to ancestral Puebloan ruins.
These are God-fearing Americans who want to enjoy the great outdoors, especially the great outdoors right outside their back door.
–Nathan Crane, an attorney representing Monte Jerome Wells
The county submitted a right-of-way application to the agency for construction of a new trail in the canyon, a decision that remains under review and is fueling frustration over a closed trail that Lyman says has been a thoroughfare for cattlemen and others since pioneer days.
The ride, which Lyman promoted through traditional and social media, brought rebuke from BLM Director Neil Kornze.
Lyman appeared in court without a lawyer, but U.S. District Magistrate Judge Evelyn J. Furse appointed him one for the hearing.
Lyman told the judge that the County Commission has an interest in the validity of the right-of-way and is willing to participate in his defense, which adds "complexities" to his hiring an attorney. He said he doesn't know if he qualifies for a public defender and is concerned about the "exorbitant" cost of legal fees.
After the hearing attended by several dozen family members and friends of the five men, Lyman told reporters he wanted to talk but his lawyer advised him against it.
Furse scheduled a two-day trial beginning Dec. 22. If convicted, the five men face up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and 12 months of probation. Prosecutors also said there is a possibility they would have to pay restitution.
