Scott Braden Is SUWA’s New Executive Director!

SUWA is excited to welcome Scott Braden as our new Executive Director. He replaces longtime director Scott Groene, who retired from SUWA in December.

Scott Braden fell in love with Utah’s rivers and canyons as an outdoor educator and went on to devote his career to protecting public lands across the American West. He comes to SUWA with two decades of experience in conservation advocacy, nonprofit management, and organizational leadership.

Some of you may recognize Scott’s name—he began his advocacy career at SUWA from 2007 to 2011 and later worked as a public lands advocate with Conservation Colorado and the Colorado Mountain Club. Most recently, Scott served as co-founder and director of the Colorado Wildlands Project. There, he led efforts to conserve Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Colorado, including a national monument campaign for the Dolores River canyon country, securing a variety of administrative protections, and establishing a collaborative stewardship program.

Scott steps into his new role on May 5th, and we’ll provide multiple opportunities for members to meet him (for starters, see our Summer Shindig announcement below).

>> Learn more about Scott in our recent press release

The agency’s rule updates motorized vehicle regulations to provide stronger protections for some of the area’s most scenic, fragile, and special places while still balancing opportunities for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. Unfortunately, these much-needed protections are in jeopardy. Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2) have invoked the Congressional Review Act and introduced joint resolutions of disapproval (S.J. Res. 30 and H.J. Res. 60) to revoke the 2025 rule.

If Congress passes the joint resolution, the rule cannot go into effect and the NPS will be prohibited from issuing a new rule that is “substantially similar,” making it much harder for the agency to regulate motorized vehicle use in the future.

“America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act is a vision of what real conservation and wilderness protection should look like for public lands in Utah,” said SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill. “The stakes have never been higher, as the Trump administration looks to decimate public lands, prioritize extractive industry above all else, and eliminate the workforce of career staff who manage these lands. Senator Durbin and Representative Stansbury have been steadfast and powerful voices in the wilderness movement, and we are continually grateful for their consistent commitment to ensuring that the redrock is protected for future generations.”

On April 4th, the U.S. Senate failed to pass an amendment related to the FY 2026 budget that would have prohibited the sell-off of federal public lands. Introduced by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO), the amendment was defeated in a 48-51 vote, leaving cherished landscapes vulnerable to ongoing threats of disposal and privatization.

One week later, a Senate version of the misleadingly titled “Fix our Forests Act” was introduced by Senator John Curtis (R-UT). As SUWA Wildlands Attorney Kya Marienfeld explained, “Far from achieving its worthwhile goals of improving forest health, boosting forest restoration, and protecting communities, this bill undermines core environmental protections, leaving taxpayers with destroyed landscapes and making communities more prone to unnatural wildfire, not less.”

Then, on April 16th, the Trump administration announced its plan to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule, which reiterates that conservation is a key component of the BLM’s multiple-use mission. The Rule was the product of an extensive, years-long public process and 92% of the comments received by the BLM supported it.

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Motorized Groups Sue Over Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil Travel Plan

Earlier this month, the Idaho-based BlueRibbon Coalition and others sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil Travel Management Plan, which was finalized in January 2025. This follows on the heels of a similar lawsuit, filed by the group in March, over the San Rafael Swell Travel Management Plan.

The Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil plan covers roughly 1,450,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands, including the Dirty Devil Canyon complex, the Henry Mountains, and the stunning badlands surrounding Factory Butte.

SUWA Staff Attorney Laura Peterson noted that, while the final plan got many things wrong, “[O]ne thing it did right was not opening many so-called ‘routes’ to motorized vehicles—routes that do not exist on the ground, damage cultural sites, or cause serious environmental harm.” She added, “BlueRibbon’s repeated lawsuits over these recently-completed travel plans have nothing to do with public lands access or seeking balance between motorized and non-motorized recreation; they have everything to do with wanting every inch of Utah to be a motorized playground.”

SUWA has intervened in both lawsuits, allowing us to defend conservation gains as the litigation moves through the legal process.

>> Read our full press statement

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

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Meet SUWA’s New Executive Director at Our Annual Summer Shindig

It’s almost that time again! Mark your calendar for our annual Summer Shindig on Tuesday, June 17th, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. We’ll introduce our new Executive Director, Scott Braden, and celebrate our amazing members. We couldn’t do this work without your support, and we can’t wait to thank you in person!

Come say hello, enjoy some tasty food, and spend the evening with like-minded folks who make the Protect Wild Utah movement possible. These gatherings remind us about the importance of being in community by showing up, sharing space, and finding connection through a shared love for the redrock.

This is a members-only event, so please make sure your membership is current. Questions about your status? Reach out to us at membership@suwa.org.

Keep an eye out for more details to come.