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Author: Steve Bloch

CategoriesBlog

Good News! Court Rejects Drilling in Upper Desolation Canyon

Oct 13th, 2016 Written by Steve Bloch

A federal judge recently issued an order rejecting a natural gas project on public lands along the Upper Desolation Canyon stretch of the Green River in eastern Utah. This ruling […]

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CategoriesBlog

Press Release: Court Rejects Drilling in Upper Desolation Canyon

Oct 4th, 2016 Written by Steve Bloch

SALT LAKE CITY (October 5, 2016) – A federal judge has rejected a natural gas project on public lands along the Upper Desolation Canyon on the Green River in eastern Utah.

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CategoriesRS 2477

Press Release: Federal Appeals Court Clears Path for State Court to Hear Taxpayer Lawsuit that Could Derail Utah RS 2477 Litigation

May 3rd, 2016 Written by Steve Bloch

Today, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order that clears the path for Tooele County resident Michael Abdo and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to move forward with a state court lawsuit that could derail the State of Utah’s RS 2477 litigation in Tooele...

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CategoriesBlog

Press Release: Obama’s Interior Department Pushes Oil Shale Plan Threatening Massive Climate Pollution, Water Use

Apr 6th, 2016 Written by Steve Bloch

The Bureau of Land Management announced this week that it is moving toward allowing dirty oil shale development that could be a double whammy for the environment, unleashing nearly a half a billion tons of greenhouse gases and consuming vast amounts Colorado River basin water.

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CategoriesARRWA

A Confluence of Ideas: “Keeping It in the Ground” and Protecting America’s Redrock Wilderness

Mar 8th, 2016 Written by Steve Bloch

Thanks largely to fossil fuel development and consumption and the changes they are bringing to the planet’s climate, Utah – and particularly Utah’s canyon country – is predicted to be […]

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Today the Department of the Interior announced its Today the Department of the Interior announced its rescission of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule. 

The Public Lands Rule established a “… framework to ensure healthy landscapes, abundant wildlife habitat, clean water, and balanced decision-making on our nation’s public lands.” It did not preclude any uses on BLM-managed public lands; it puts conservation on equal footing with grazing, mining, and energy production, and promoted restoration, provided for responsible development, and conserved intact healthy landscapes. 

The Rule was the product of an extensive, years-long public process with multiple in-person and online meetings and opportunities for public comment. 92% of the comments received by BLM supported the Rule.
From coast to coast, activists all across the coun From coast to coast, activists all across the country have been advocating for Grand Staircase-Escalante. From meetings on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to postcard campaigns and meetings in local congressional offices—one thing is clear: CONGRESS SHOULD PROTECT OUR PARKS & MONUMENTS! The momentum is building.

Want to get involved? Reach out to your regional organizer to learn more at suwa.org/suwa-regional-organizers (link in bio). #protectwildutah #nationalmonuments #publiclands #keeppubliclandsinpublichands
Last week we asked you to take action to protect t Last week we asked you to take action to protect the Labyrinth Canyon area from a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to authorize the Keg Knoll backcountry airstrip for private aircraft takeoffs and landings. Now, the BLM’s Canyon Country District is proposing to designate TEN additional backcountry airstrips in the Moab and Monticello areas in remote locations. SIX of these locations are in highly-sensitive wildlife, wilderness-quality, or Monument-adjacent lands and should not be designated.

Please TAKE ACTION NOW using our easy action tool, it takes less than 2 minutes! (link in bio)

None of these airstrips have ever been officially designated, and despite past impacts from unauthorized use, most are essentially reclaimed and no longer functional for takeoff or landing. Reopening them would require removal of mature native plants like blackbrush, rabbitbrush, and junipers, fragmenting habitat and degrading wilderness characteristics that took years to recover. Several locations sit within BLM-identified wilderness-quality lands or directly adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument, where aircraft noise and visual intrusions would diminish the solitude, natural soundscapes, and cultural landscapes these areas were meant to protect.

Swipe to see where the most problematic airstrips are located.
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announc Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it would be reconsidering the San Rafael Desert and San Rafael Swell Travel Management Plans. Those two plans were finalized in 2022 and 2025 and guide where motorized vehicle use is allowed across more than 1.5 million acres of BLM-managed lands in Utah’s redrock country.  Those plans designated hundreds of miles of new motorized vehicle routes and authorized public motorized use on them. Now the Trump Administration’s BLM plans to go even further, increasing motorized recreation at the expense of all other public lands users. 

For more info visit link in bio. #protectwildutah
LAST CHANCE to get your SUWA PARTY SHIRT! Trust me LAST CHANCE to get your SUWA PARTY SHIRT! Trust me when I say, you can wear these bad boys anywhere—whether it be to your next dinner party or a party in the desert! 🪩🕺 Once they're gone they're gone for good. 

Did I mention they're half price!? Grab one now at our online shop at suwa.org.
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Main Office

425 East 100 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 486-3161

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122 C Street, NW Suite 650
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 546-2215

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P.O. Box 968
Moab, UT 84532

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Our popular “Protect Wild Utah” yard signs (in both English and Spanish) are available for pickup at SUWA’s Salt Lake City office and at many of our local events. To arrange an office pickup time (between 9-5, M-F), please call (801) 486-3161 or email us at info@suwa.org.

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