D&P's Laci Werner Represents Utah's OHV Dealers on the State OHV Advisory Council

Short version: Laci Werner at D&P Performance holds the Off-Highway Vehicle Dealers seat on Utah's OHV Advisory Council — the 12-member body that advises the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation on OHV laws, rules, programs, and where OHV grant money goes. Council members serve four-year terms and meet up to four times a year. If you ride in Southern Utah and you have something to say about trail access, grant priorities, or safety education, Laci is one of twelve people in the state whose job is to carry that forward.

Here's what the council actually does, what the dealer seat is for, and how to get a Southern Utah issue in front of it.

Last updated October 26, 2026. Council structure and membership from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation's OHV Advisory Council page and Utah Administrative Code R650-407.

What the Utah OHV Advisory Council Is

The Off-Highway Vehicle Advisory Council represents Utah's OHV user groups when the state makes decisions about OHV laws, rules, programs, and policy. It's an advisory body to the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation and its board: it doesn't write law, and it doesn't manage trails itself. It reviews, scores, analyzes, and recommends.

The council has 12 appointed members, each representing a specific user group or partner agency. The seats are: all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, four-wheel drive, snowmobiles, OHV dealers, OHV safety, search and rescue, a member-at-large, and agency representatives from the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, and the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Members serve four-year terms, must be active OHV users, and are expected to be advocates for responsible motorized recreation.

The current roster is public on the Division's website at recreation.utah.gov.

What the Council Does

Here's what the council's duties look like in plain terms:

Scores OHV grant applications and recommends funding. Utah's OHV Recreation (OHVR) Grant program funds motorized trail construction and maintenance, access protection, safety education, and search and rescue. The council evaluates and scores applications and makes formal funding recommendations to the state board. This is the part with the most direct effect on riders: the grant that builds a trailhead, re-routes a washed-out section, or puts a county SAR team on better equipment runs through this review.

Evaluates the state OHV program. The council periodically reviews how the program is working and recommends changes to make it more effective, safer, and better managed.

Analyzes issues facing riders. Land access, multi-use trail sharing, facility development — the council identifies the pressing ones and brings strategic advice to the Division and board.

Advises on laws, rules, and education requirements. When the state is considering OHV rule changes or education requirements, the council reviews them and submits recommendations. (For a current example of a rule riders ask about constantly, see our guide to making a UTV street-legal in Utah.)

Represents motorized users in land-use planning. With agency concurrence, members represent state and motorized-user interests during federal and state travel management planning — the processes that decide which routes end up on the Motor Vehicle Use Map.

Stays neutral. Per the council's bylaws, members cannot lobby the Legislature in their council capacity without prior approval from the Division or board. That's deliberate: the council's value is as an informed, representative voice, not a political one.

What the Dealer Seat Is For

Every seat represents a constituency. The dealer seat is there because dealers see the whole picture at once: who's buying what, what's breaking, where new riders are coming from, what questions they ask before they ever get to a trailhead, and what the real-world effect of a rule change is on people who just bought their first machine.

For D&P, the practical effect is that the questions we hear every day — "is this trail still open," "do I need the education certificate for my kid," "why did that route get dropped from the map" — have somewhere to go.

How Southern Utah Riders Can Use This

The council is a statewide body, and most of Utah's OHV population and political weight sits along the Wasatch Front. Iron, Washington, Garfield, Kane, and Beaver counties have some of the best riding in the state and a smaller voice. Having the dealer seat held by someone in Cedar City is a chance to change that, but only if riders actually bring things forward.

If you have:

• A trail or access issue on the Dixie National Forest, BLM land, or county routes
• An idea for an OHVR grant project — a trailhead, signage, a re-route, a safety program — that a club, county, or agency could apply for
• A rule, education, or registration question that keeps coming up in your riding group
• Experience with a travel management plan in progress

Use the D&P contact form and put "OHV Council" in the message. Laci represents dealers on the council and can't promise outcomes, but she can make sure Southern Utah's perspective is part of the conversation.

Council meetings are public, and the Division posts agendas and minutes on the Utah Public Notice Website. If you'd rather hear it firsthand, that's where.

Why This Matters to Us

D&P has been in Cedar City since 1978. We sponsor the Duck Creek trail maps, we maintain trail guides for the routes our customers ride, and we service the machines that go out on them. The riding here is the reason the dealership exists. Having a seat at the table where the state decides how to fund and manage that riding is a responsibility, and we're proud Laci took it on.

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