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2020 Newsletters

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Spring 2020

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BIG news: the BLM has released a plan that finally

BIG news: the BLM has released a plan that finally protects Labyrinth Canyon and surrounding public lands! 🎉🎉

Today, the agency released a final motorized vehicle travel management plan for the world-renowned Labyrinth Canyon and Gemini Bridges area near Moab in Grand County, Utah. The new plan will guide land management decisions in this 300,000-acre landscape for years to come. It will help protect cultural sites, riparian habitat, and the experience of non-motorized recreationists while allowing for motorized recreation on more than 800 miles of dirt trails and routes.

“Visitors will finally be able to experience stunning Labyrinth Canyon without the noise, dust, and damage that accompanies motorized recreation,” said Laura Peterson, staff attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “For too long, the BLM has prioritized off-road vehicle use at the expense of Utah’s incredible natural and cultural resources. The Labyrinth Canyon plan represents an important step forward to guide the management of Utah’s public lands and reduce the impacts of off-road vehicle routes in this area.”

See link in bio to read our full press release.

📷 James W. Kay

#ProtectWildUtah #LabyrinthCanyon #AccessNotExcess #PublicLands

40th Anniversary #tbt Flashback! It's no secret th

40th Anniversary #tbt Flashback! It's no secret that the eight long years of the George W. Bush administration were especially dark times for America's public lands. With "Drill, baby, drill" the prevailing mantra of the day, the frenzy of pro-industry, anti-conservation decisions continued to the bitter end of Bush's last term.

In late 2008, the BLM released updated resource management plans (RMPs) for 11 million acres of public land in Utah; to no one's great surprise, they opened 80 percent of those lands to oil and gas development. With that license to pillage now granted, the Bush administration announced a year-end fire sale of oil and gas leases as a parting gift to the fossil fuel industry. On the auction block were wilderness-quality lands in Desolation Canyon, the White River, and the greater Nine Mile Canyon and Dinosaur regions. Even parcels near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks were fair game. The sale was so egregious it made national headlines.

Our organizers immediately planned a protest outside the December lease auction, where bundled-up activists held signs reading, "Don't drill away the future" and "Save wilderness." Meanwhile, SUWA and a coalition of six other conservation and historic preservation groups filed a lawsuit against the BLM and quickly won a temporary restraining order.

A few months later, in a fortunate twist, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar directed the BLM to reject all bids for the 77 lease parcels at issue in our case. In a February 4th editorial, the Salt Lake Tribune noted that "[T]he significance of Salazar's decision hinges on whether it proves, as it should, to be the opening salvo in a determined battle to restore balance to the federal government's management of public land in Utah and elsewhere."

That battle for balance continues to this day, not only on the fossil fuel leasing front, but also in the quest to secure sound management plans that protect our last wild places.

We've come a long way together -- thanks for being part of the Utah wilderness movement!

Have you ever thought about the evolution of off-r

Have you ever thought about the evolution of off-road vehicles (ORVs) and their impact on fragile desert ecosystems? Advancements in ORV technology have far outpaced land management strategies, allowing motorized recreationists to go farther and faster for longer—leaving public lands in Utah vulnerable to significant damage.⁠
⁠
Through field research and active participation in the Bureau of Land Management's ongoing travel planning process, SUWA is working to balance recreational ORV use with the critical need to protect southern Utah’s redrock wilderness.

Swipe to learn more about the history and evolution of ORVs, then text UTAH TRAVEL to 52886 to stay informed on how you can advocate for balanced management of Utah's public lands.

#ProtectWildUtah #AccessNotExcess

40th Anniversary #tbt Flashback! After a bumpy fou

40th Anniversary #tbt Flashback! After a bumpy four-year ride through Congress, the Cedar Mountain Wilderness bill was into law by President George W. Bush in January of 2006. It was the first Utah-specific federal wilderness designation in 22 years and quadrupled the amount of designated Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wilderness in Utah from 25,120 acres to 100,000 acres.

Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced the bill in the House as a component of his Utah Test and Training Range Act, which was itself folded into the larger National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). For Bishop—no great friend of wilderness—protecting the Cedars was a useful means of addressing the military’s concerns while at the same time blocking a controversial nuclear waste transportation route. But even with the support of the entire Utah delegation, the bill’s passage was far from guaranteed. Many members of the Senate opposed the legislation precisely because of its anti-nuclear waste implications.

The Senate version of the NDAA omitted Bishop’s Cedar Mountain legislation, leading to a nerve-racking process to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills. Proponents, including key SUWA activists in Virginia, Michigan, and Nevada, immediately mobilized. Their efforts paid off and the Cedar Mountain Wilderness bill ultimately became law, demonstrating that even in tough political times we can make progress on wilderness designation.

The Cedar range may lack the fame of Utah’s redrock country, but its grassy slopes and rugged limestone outcrops provide important wildlife habitat and offer an accessible oasis of solitude for northern Utah’s urban communities. Wilderness designation has kept the Cedar range a lovely and serene place, free from the encroachment of off-road vehicles and industrial development.

This conservation victory was made possible by 20-plus years of hard work by SUWA activists around the country who made sure their members of Congress supported the protection of Utah wild lands.

We've come a long way together—thanks for being part of the Utah wilderness movement!

📷 1: © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
📷 2: © SUWA

In an effort to address the explosive growth in hu

In an effort to address the explosive growth in human-powered recreation on public lands, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released its "Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation." While not a formal management plan, the Blueprint is a strategic document intended to guide the agency's recreation management across the 245 million acres of public land it manages. It’s crucial for Utah’s wild lands—and for those of us who love them—that they get it right.

Unfortunately, the Blueprint is not the “major shift” that the agency claims will enable it to move from reactive recreation management to a proactive approach that better protects natural and cultural resources. Instead, it offers little change from previous strategic plans that have led to the current, untenable situation. With its overall emphasis on meeting demand and increasing access, the Blueprint is largely devoid of measures that prioritize the protection of natural and cultural resources and ensure timely and meaningful implementation on the ground.

While we support the Blueprint’s focus on growing and diversifying funding, improving equitable access, and ensuring that underserved communities and Tribal voices are represented, we have grave concerns that this well-intended document will do little to halt the degradation of wild lands, wildlife, and cultural landscapes.

The BLM is accepting public comments on the Blueprint through Saturday, September 30th. Please tell the agency that its recreation management strategy must proactively protect intact wild lands, wildlife, and other natural and cultural resources. Action link in bio!

#ReimagineRecreation #ProtectWildUtah

📷 Lin Alder

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425 East 100 South
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Moab, UT 84532

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