May 2013

Here’s what is happening this month with the redrock:
1.  Join Neil Young and Daryl Hannah in our Greater Canyonlands photo campaign.
2.  Bad news for Hatch Point in Greater Canyonlands.
3.  Help increase congressional support for Utah wilderness.
4.  Attend an upcoming redrock event in NJ, NY and CT.

Take a Protect Greater Canyonlands photo! Daryl Hannah and Neil Young did.

Recently, actress/director Daryl Hannah and rock legend Neil Young were in Moab and showed their support for protecting Greater Canyonlands!

Join them by taking a Protect Greater Canyonlands photo!  Click here to print out your own black and yellow sign and then upload your own photo: http://bit.ly/GCCampaign

More ways to get involved this summer:

Our Greater Canyonlands postcard campaign has been a great success!  Staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality have noticed the thousands of signatures from redrock supporters throughout the country, and we will continue to deliver signed postcards to President Obama throughout the summer.

Sign up to collect postcards in support of protecting Greater Canyonlands from your family, friends and beyond by clicking here.

You can also visit http://bit.ly/GCCampaign to send an email to President Obama, tweet to the White House, ask your friends to like the Protect Greater Canyonlands Facebook page, and more.

BLM green lights potash drilling on Hatch Point

The Moab Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved a mining company’s proposal to drill four exploratory potash* wells on Hatch Point.  K2O Utah LLC, owned by a large Australian mining company, has little concern for the harmful effects its drilling and development activities have on the outstanding scenery of the Greater Canyonlands area; it is interested in making a profit.  Period.  Yet, the tens of thousands of visitors that flock to the Hatch Point and Needles Overlook area annually are not doing so to view drill rigs, sludge pits, tanker trucks and industrial equipment.

Area of Hatch Point that would be affected by potash development.

The BLM has acknowledged that its current management plan failed to correctly identify areas where oil, gas and potash development should occur.  As a result, the Moab BLM is currently conducting an evaluation of public lands near Moab (known as the Master Leasing Plan process) to correct this defect.  As part of the Master Leasing Plan, the BLM is considering new management constraints for various areas, such as closing the Hatch Point area to leasing.   The BLM’s draft Master Leasing Plan is scheduled for release later this summer.

The BLM’s resolve to rush headlong into a decision to allow potash drilling on Hatch Point illustrates the immediate need for a higher level of protection for the lands in Greater Canyonlands.

Read more on our blog by clicking here.

Help grow congressional support for Utah wilderness!

In April, redrock champions Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, legislation that would protect over 9 million acres of spectacular public lands in Utah.

Currently, the redrock bill has 71 House and 12 Senate cosponsors — those members of Congress who have officially signed on in support of this visionary legislation.  Now, our task is to continue to grow this support during the coming months.  Contact from you — their constituents — is what really makes the difference.

What you can do:

1) Send an email to your members of Congress by clicking here.

2) Sign our petition to Congress by clicking here.

If your members of Congress have already cosponsored America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (see list by clicking here), please thank them by clicking here.






Attend a Utah wilderness event!

Learn more about Utah wilderness, the Greater Canyonlands campaign, and how you can get involved.  In the coming weeks, presentations will be held in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.

Click here for the upcoming schedule of presentations and events. To suggest a venue or group for a presentation in your area, please contact Clayton (clayton@suwa.org) in the Midwest and Jackie (jackie@suwa.org) in the East.






Sign the petition to protect Greater Canyonlands