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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 received local and national media attention. The plan at issue in the ruling is part of the highly controversial Gasco...

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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 hotter and drier than ever. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the American Southwest, including Utah,...

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From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduc From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduction) there were a total of 20 mining claims filed in the lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. As of Monday, Sept. 28 (two weeks after the mineral withdrawal was lifted during the second illegal reduction), more than triple that number – 72 claims – have been filed in Bears Ears. 

Claims have been filed by Land Survey Advisors LLC (36), Kimmerle Mining (33), and George W. Schultz (3). A map of all claims can be found above. 

For more info, visit link in @protectwildutah's bio.
Since our press release last Wednesday, Kimmerle Since our press release last Wednesday,  Kimmerle Mining has filed 7 additional mining claims. All are located near Natural Bridges National Monument—the first International Dark Sky Park.

This brings the total mining claims to 20 from Kimmerle Mining and 23 total (3 from George W. Schultz) in lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. 

Now is a critical time to contact your members of Congress and urge them to speak out against the cuts to these extraordinary places, as well as the inexcusable disbanding of the Bears Ears Commission.

To learn more or see an updated map of these mining claims, visit suwa.org (or link in bio).
Today is the 30th anniversary of the designation o Today is the 30th anniversary of the designation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. While we could lament on those who are trying to destroy it, let’s instead honor the people who have dedicated their lives to protect it. 

If you’ve been to Grand Staircase, you know just how easy it is to be wild and free there. The landscape is a living one, an ancestral land to indigenous peoples, and home to so many living species. From the deeply rooted biological soil crusts to the stories told in the dark night skies—let’s celebrate this incredibly magical place as it continues to inspire us forward.

Please continue to support and magnify the voices of protectors like the @grandstaircasecoalition.

Let today be a reminder of how deeply we love Grand Staircase-Escalante and how far we're willing to go to protect it. Protect Wild Utah!

Photo credits: Daniel Richardson
This week, Sen. Lee took a major step toward overt This week, Sen. Lee took a major step toward overturning the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan by adding a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion to the Congressional Record.

Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), this opens the door for Congress to introduce a resolution of disapproval, which we anticipate will happen soon. If passed by a simple majority in both the House and Senate and signed by the President, the Bears Ears Management Plan would be undone.

The plan lays out how the monument will be managed for wildlife, outdoor recreation, dark skies, grazing, and other uses. Not to mention it would unravel years of collaboration between Tribal Nations and federal agencies while preventing a similar plan from being created in the future.

The move comes just days after 16 new mining claims were filed within Bears Ears National Monument.

For more info, visit link in bio.
Photo Credit: Tim Peterson
The Forest Service is rewriting its longstanding T The Forest Service is rewriting its longstanding Travel Management Rule, which determines where off-road vehicles can travel across national forests and grasslands. The proposal prioritizes ORV use at the expense of all other uses, including the protection of wildlife, cultural sites, healthy streams, and the solitude of wild places. 

❗Submit a comment NOW at link in bio.❗

There are already hundreds of thousands of miles of Forest Service roads nationwide,  facing a $9 billion maintenance backlog. Both the proposed Travel Management Rule change and the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule (alert from earlier this week) are part of the administration’s systematic dismantling of the rules and safeguards that keep national forests healthy and safe for the benefit of all. #protectwildutah
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