S 2970

Introduced

A bill to authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

To authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Introduced Oct 3, 2025

Latest action (Dec 9, 2025) Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held.

Referred to

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Policy area

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Issues

Climate & Energy

Legislative subjects (4)

Motor vehicles Parks, recreation areas, trails Roads and highways Utah

Summary

This Act authorizes the use of off-highway vehicles on specific roads within Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, including Burr Trail Road, Cathedral Road, Hartnet Road, Highway 24, Notom Bullfrog Road, Polk Creek Road, Oil Well Bench Road, Baker Ranch Road, South Desert Overlook Road, Temple of the Sun and Moon Road, Gypsum Sinkhole Road, and Sulphur Creek Road. Utah state law, rather than federal national park regulations, shall govern the use of motor vehicles, including off-highway vehicles, on these designated roads.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)

1 cosponsor

Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT)

Actions (3)

Dec 9, 2025 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. · senate
Oct 3, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
Oct 3, 2025 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Hearings to examine S.290, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.446, to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, S.573, to designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali, S.601, to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky, S.730, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, H.R.186, and S.858, bills to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1131, to establish the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia, S.1135, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, S.1280, to designate six creeks in North Carolina in honor of the lives lost in a plane crash in Carteret County, North Carolina, on February 13, 2022, S.1353, to extend the authority for modifications to the Second Division Memorial in the District of Columbia, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1518, to redesignate the Saratoga National Historical Park as the "Saratoga National Battlefield Park", S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.1926, to encourage reduction of disposable plastic products in units of the National Park System, S.2270, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the portion of the Myakka River in Sarasota County, Florida, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.2308, to amend the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international visitors to units of the National Park System, S.2369, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia, S.2385, to codify Executive Order 14253 relating to restoring truth and sanity to American history, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2708, to enhance the preservation, maintenance, and management of national historic trails and national scenic trails, S.2970, to authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and H.R.249, to redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.Energy and Natural Resources CommitteeDec 9, 2025Business meeting

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 3, 2025

Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. USE OF OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, UTAH.

(a) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) Covered road.—The term “covered road” means the portions of each of Burr Trail Road, Cathedral Road, Hartnet Road, Highway 24, Notom Bullfrog Road, Polk Creek Road, Oil Well Bench Road, Baker Ranch Road, South Desert Overlook Road, Temple of the Sun and Moon Road, Gypsum Sinkhole Road, and Sulphur Creek Road that are located within the boundaries of the Capitol Reef National Park in the State.

(2) Off-highway vehicle.—The term “off-highway vehicle” has the meaning given the term in State law.

(3) State.—The term “State” means the State of Utah.

(b) Applicable Law.—State law shall apply to the use of motor vehicles (including off-highway vehicles) on a covered road. <all>

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