Trump’s Federal Cuts Risk Moab’s Future

News

by Hannah Dobson March 7, 2025 9

The team looking after important sections of Moab’s iconic Whole Enchilada has been let go under Tump appointee Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) cuts, with more cuts affecting other visitor services in Moab. What does politics have to do with mountain biking? Quite a lot, when it comes to one of your dream destinations.

It surely hasn’t escaped your attention that Trump, Elon Musk and the so-called Doge (it’s not actually an official government department) has been making cuts to Federal budgets in the USA. As well as some of the more publicised efficiencies being claimed at contract level, there have been mass layoffs across the Federal Government. In Moab, locals are concerned at the impact there will be on their economy.

The Whole Enchilada is an iconic series of trails running 35 miles all the way from high above Moab in the La Sals mountains, all the way down to the banks of the Colorado on the edge of town. Each year, there’s a fairly narrow window of opportunity for mountain bikers flocking to the area to ride the Whole Enchilada – although you can have a bite at portions of it for much of the year. Snow covers the sections at higher elevation, and access to the uppermost Burro Pass section isn’t open until 1st July – and closes again when snow falls, usually October some time. By July, things are getting hot, and an early start is essential to ensure you cover the lower sections and make it home before heat exhaustion gets the better of you.

With the Whole Enchilada being on many a mountain biker’s bucket list, plus the equally iconic Slick Rock Trail and neighbouring attractions of Arches and Canyonlands National Park, there’s a lot of visitors flocking to Moab. The various land managers help ensure that both the visitors and the land are safe, balancing access with services and maintenance. This helps tourists have a better experience, keeping the local economy going. And of course, the employees themselves bring spending power to their communities.

Who are these people?

Public Land management around Moab is the responsibility of three key Federal government agencies. Here’s a bit of a primer for those unfamiliar with the set up.

The National Parks Service looks after the National Parks – specific landscape areas considered to be nationally important and afforded special protections. Visitors pay to access these areas, but they’re so spectacular they’re typically worth the fees. There are plenty of wild spaces within National Parks, but there’s also plenty of accessible wonders. Visitors from the UK may be astounded by the provision – clearly signed paths lead away from large car parks, with plenty of public toilets, and drinking water outlets. It’s all part of visitor management – keeping the millions of visitors safe from the heat, and keeping the landscape safe from the heavy footfall.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for lower elevation and desert terrain, and manages a lot of grazing rights, as well as providing and managing a number of campsites. In the case of Moab, the BLM works closely with Grand County to provide many of the mountain biking trails and maintenance. Grand County is ‘County’ level, not a Federal service, so isn’t subject to Federal orders from Doge. 

The US Forest Service (USFS) manages forests – in Moab this is lands typically at higher elevations away from the desert heat, where the trees can grow. The La Sals mountains above Moab, where the Whole Enchilada begins at Burro Pass, are managed by the USFS. They undertake a whole array of forest management tasks, as well as managing campsites on their lands, and doing trail maintenance.

What’s happening in Moab?

I’ve spoken to a former member of the trail crew responsible for the La Sals, who told me that they and the entire five person team they were in has been let go. This leaves just one ranger to cover the entire La Sals area – thousands of acres of mountains and forest, with 6 campgrounds. The ranger’s role is typically to ensure people are paying for their camp spots, aren’t overstaying, and are observing fire safety requirements. They’d also keep the toilets clean! As well as the 5 staff that have been fired, usually they’d be joined by additional seasonal workers.

This USFS team would usually maintain the Burro Pass, Hazard County, and Upper Porcupine sections of the Whole Enchilada. In the heat of the summer, they’d be joined by County workers, volunteers and Conservation Core placements, who would labour in the mountains when it’s too hot to do physical work at lower levels. However, it’s the USFS workers who are allowed to operate chainsaws – a key element in clearing the dead fall revealed after the snows have melted. If a tree falls across the Whole Enchilada, there’s now no one left to go and clear it.

We understand that there are more USFS cuts beyond team responsible for The Whole Enchilada trail. Plus, there are cuts in roles at the BLM and National Parks. Arches National Park had over 1.4million visitors last year, bringing an estimated $283m in visitor spending to the area – imagine how their experience would be without the necessary staff to keep the infrastructure going, or the damage that could be done to the landscape. It’s all making local residents and business owners concerned for the future of Moab.

Merrick Golz is the new owner of Coyote Shuttles, a local business that’s been running river trips and bike shuttle services for thirty years. Having only just purchased the company two weeks ago, he’s now left wondering at the value of his investment. He’s already starting to see the ripples of the cuts having real impacts on the people that live and work in the area:

‘People are nervous – even those who are still in a job at the moment are wondering how long it will last. I’ve had a bunch of enquiries from National Parks and Forest Service staff looking to see if I’m recruiting. These are people who have put time and effort into our community. I’ve already heard of one person who couldn’t go through with their house purchase, having just been let go.

Moab and the whole Grand County area relies so heavily on tourism for its economy. If visitors aren’t confident that the services they need will be ready and waiting for them, they won’t come. Volunteers can do so much to keep our trails open, but there’s a lot of infrastructure that needs staff to keep it open – and safe. The US Forest Service now has just one officer to patrol the La Sals. How realistic is it for them to enforce fire bans during the high risk season? Will we see the usual mitigation work being carried out to reduce the risk of fires? What happens high in the mountains affects all of us downstream, one way or another’

Samantha Derbyside runs the Whole Enchilada Shuttle Company, and shares many of Merrick’s concerns:

‘Moab is a world-renowned mountain biking destination, home to incredible trail systems, with The Whole Enchilada as its Crown Jewel. The uppermost section, Burro Pass, doesn’t open until July 1, and with the intense summer heat in the desert, the prime riding season lasts only about eight weeks in the fall—until snow shuts it down. In that short window, riders from around the world flock to this trail, sometimes exceeding 100 riders per day. That’s a tremendous amount of impact in a short period—and that’s just the bikers. Hikers, cattle, and natural environmental factors also play a role in shaping trail conditions.

‘Last year, the USFS was finally able to rebuild a full trail crew after operating with a reduced team for two years. Their return made a huge difference, allowing for much-needed trail improvements and long-overdue maintenance. However, trail maintenance in Moab has been a collaborative effort. A key partnership with the County trail crew—responsible for maintaining all other trails in the area—has been critical. Fortunately, there’s one more year of USFS funding that enables the county crew to work within the national forest, but beyond that, the future is uncertain. While the county team will continue working, their role will be limited to tread maintenance, as they are not certified to operate chainsaws—meaning critical tree clearing will go unaddressed. Trail conditions may hold up this year, but without proper or even minimal maintenance from the USFS trail crew, their long-term health is in jeopardy.

‘The full Whole Enchilada season is vital to our business, as we rely on the surge in ridership to stay sustainable. If the upper trails decline, it won’t just impact us—he future of ours, and many other forest service dependent businesses and livelihoods are at stake. Furthermore, the USFS is just one of many federal land agencies that sustain tourism and recreation in the region. Moab sits within Grand County, where 87% of the land is public, and 73% of that is federally managed. The continued gutting of federal agencies doesn’t just threaten our trails—it threatens the very foundation of Moab’s economy. Tourism, driven by the beauty and recreation found in our public lands, is the lifeblood of this town. Without proper stewardship, we risk losing what makes Moab so special—not just for visitors, but for the entire community that calls it home.’

Mark Sevenoff from Western Spirit Cycling Adventures thinks the Whole Enchilada will be safe, but still has broader concerns:

‘In my opinion there will be no loss of the Whole Enchilada. Strangely enough there’s some folk who are attracted to “raw” trails and don’t actually like maintenance. Regardless, locals will volunteer to support the Forest Service and help open up the trail like we do on many other trails up in the Forest. However I’m still very concerned about all the cuts, but much more from the National Park Service where we get millions of visitors per year between Arches and Canyonlands. While I may not be worried about the Whole Enchilada in particular, I do very much worry about our economy, our locals and our delicate backcountry. Oh yeah… and our democracy. That’s probably #1 on the list.’

It’s not just Moab

I’ve used Moab and the Whole Enchilada as the example here, as it’s a location I know, and one I know is recognised by mountain bikers all over the world. But all over the USA, this same pattern is being repeated. Mountain biking can bring important economic benefits to communities, and all over the country huge efforts have been made to build relationships between USFS and BLM staff, volunteers, and trail associations. Job losses and funding uncertainty places all this work in jeopardy, and risks losing the economic gains that have come through increased tourism.

For potential visitors, it creates some uncertainty. Do you go sooner rather than later, in the hope that you’ll get there before everything gets too beaten up? Or, do you wait it out, and hope that somewhere down the line solutions can be found, maintenance and services reinstated?

Communities all over the USA will be waiting to see whether their mountain biking and recreation facilities can survive the uncertainty. Will we see local elected representatives pushing back against these cuts? If you’re a resident in the USA concerned about your local trails, get in touch with your elected representatives.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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