Amidst the chaos in Washington, DC, there are some sure signs of spring: cherry blossoms blooming, school groups visiting, and the return of rowers on the Potomac River. Every two years, spring is also when America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act—federal legislation that would protect over 8 million acres of public land in Utah as wilderness—is reintroduced by our incredible redrock champions Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Melanie Stanbury (D-NM-01)!
As I said in SUWA’s press release, the Red Rock bill is a vision of what real conservation and wilderness protection should look like for public lands in Utah. 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.
For over 35 years, this bill has served many purposes—as our vision for public lands in southern Utah, as a negotiating tool for successful legislation and new wilderness designation, as the basis for administrative protections, and as a rallying cry for redrock activists all throughout the country. Without it, redrock country would look very different: less protected, less breathtaking, and less wild. Utah politicians remain deeply out of touch with their constituents on this issue, and the Red Rock bill remains a critical way for us to show strong nationwide support for protecting public lands.
Join activists across the country in asking your members of Congress to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act or thanking them if they already have (our alert page will sort them for you).