Last night the trajectory changed for the redrock wilderness. For the past two years we’ve been fighting for Utah’s wild places on three fronts: against a Republican-controlled Congress, against the president and his administration, and against the anti-public-lands state of Utah. Last night, when Democrats decisively took control of both the House and Senate, a new political reality emerged: one where wilderness and public lands will have champions in Congress with the power to deflect attacks from the administration.

We’re clear-eyed that the Trump administration’s corrupt attacks on public lands will continue—and perhaps even ramp up—during his lame duck presidency. Here in Utah, Republicans have an irrational antipathy to public lands and continue to hold statewide office and dominate the state legislature (though it seems their supermajority may soon be a thing of the past). We have plenty of work ahead, starting with defeating the permitting reform bill that the U.S. Senate may take up as soon as Monday.

But today also ushers in a new era. For the first time since 1989 and Rep. Wayne Owens, Utah will have a member of the House of Representatives—Ben McAdams in Congressional District 1—who has committed to champion America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. After decades of having to build power outside the state of Utah to protect public lands in Utah, the tide is turning. We’ll be organizing in the Beehive State and across the country. When the 120th Congress convenes in January, we will have unprecedented opportunities and we’ll be working together to make the most of each and every one.

The work ahead is hard. It will take many more hard years to restore Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, to pass the Red Rock bill, and to protect Utah’s wild places. But SUWA is in it for the long haul, and we know that people like you—at the heart of the Protect Wild Utah movement across the country—are too.

Thank you for casting your vote. Thank you for entrusting us to do this work and for financially supporting us if you’re able. We’re deeply grateful. What we said after the 2024 election still rings true: We can protect the places and values that matter. Together, we will.

For the redrock,

Scott Braden

Executive Director
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance