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Author: Travis Hammill

CategoriesAction Alerts

Take Action: Ask Your Representative to Recognize the 60th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act!

Sep 5th, 2024 Written by Travis Hammill

This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the establishment of the National Wilderness Preservation System! Since it was signed into law in 1964, this groundbreaking federal […]

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CategoriesBlog

Rep. John Curtis Claims Conservation-Cred, Tax Breaks While Practicing Party Line Anti-Environment Politics

May 25th, 2023 Written by Travis Hammill

The recent Washington Post article highlighting Utah Rep. John Curtis’s opportunistic use of clean-energy tax credits he voted against is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes […]

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CategoriesAction Alerts

Help Build Support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act in the 118th Congress!

Mar 1st, 2023 Written by Travis Hammill

Good news! Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) will soon reintroduce America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act in the 118th Congress. Next week, activists from across the U.S. […]

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CategoriesBlog

What to Expect in the 118th Congress

Feb 21st, 2023 Written by Travis Hammill

We’re about a month and a half into the new Congress and priorities of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are beginning to coalesce as committees are seated, […]

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CategoriesAction Alerts

Western Residents: Ask Your Senators to Sign a Letter to Sec. Haaland Urging Bold Action on Conservation

Nov 1st, 2022 Written by Travis Hammill

Action opportunity for residents of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees 245 million acres of land largely spread across […]

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Thank you to each and every one of you who reached Thank you to each and every one of you who reached out to your senators—whether it was a phone call, email, postcard, or social media post. This is a moment to celebrate!

Two other important points.
First, while we’re excited that the Public Lands Sell-off has been removed, the Budget Bill is still deeply anti-conservation and anti-public-lands.

Second, though this sell-off attempt has been defeated, we know Senator Lee’s underlying goal remains the same: to force the sale of America’s public lands using any excuse or legislative opportunity he can find.

Read the full update from SUWA Executive Director Scott Braden at the link in our bio.
🎉🎉🎉 Tonight, Senator Lee (R-UT) announced 🎉🎉🎉 Tonight, Senator Lee (R-UT) announced he has withdrawn his plan to sell off public lands as part of the FY25 Budget Reconciliation Bill currently being considered by the Senate. His plan was part of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s bill text and would have required the Bureau of Land Management to offer up more than a million acres of public land across 11 western states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY) for sale.

Read our statement on the second slide or at the link in our bio. 🎉🎉🎉
Sen. Lee's reconciliation bill text to sell off mi Sen. Lee's reconciliation bill text to sell off millions of acres of public lands across the West continues to hit roadblocks of his own making. The Senate Parliamentarian, the Senate rule keeper, has once again axed the language on rules grounds. While Sen. Lee continues to try and edit to get something in, trying to set precedent for selling off public lands in Congress, time is running short. 

Sen. Daines, along with other Republican Senators from the West, have vocalized their opposition to any land sales. In addition, 5 House Republicans, led by Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, have also told Speaker Johnson that they will vote against a reconciliation package that includes land sales. This is enough to prevent the passage of the reconciliation bill.

Sen. Lee has been shown, time and time again over the last 3 weeks, that a vast majority of Americans OPPOSE THE SELL OFF OF PUBLIC LANDS, full stop. Republicans and Democrats alike are representing the interests of their constituents that public lands are not for sale.

Keep up the good work!! Let's keep the pressure on, keep calling & writing your Senators and Congressperson. We have to get over the finish line, but things are looking promising because people like you are reaching out and telling Congress to protect public lands. Thank you for putting the work in! 

#protectwildutah
Last week, SUWA members gathered for our annual Su Last week, SUWA members gathered for our annual Summer Shindig at Salt Lake City’s Tracy Aviary (@tracyaviary). It was the kind of night that reminds us why we do this work—and who we do it with. ❤

Surrounded by birdsong, good food, and even better company, we came together to celebrate our shared love for America’s redrock wilderness and the power of community in the effort to protect it. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us. Shoutout to @caffeibisroasters for being there!

Our new executive director, Scott Braden, spoke powerfully about what connects all of us in the Protect Wild Utah movement. He closed his remarks with a quote from Wallace Stegner that captured the heart of why we fight so fiercely for our last wild places:

“We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.” —Wallace Stegner

Right now, that geography of hope is under threat from escalating attempts by lawmakers to chip away at public land protections across Utah and the West. But this movement—grounded in determination, solidarity, and a deep love for the land—has never been stronger.

From all of us at SUWA, thank you for being part of this fight—for showing up in every way you can, and for helping to ensure that the redrock endures for future generations! #protectwildutah
Overnight, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that S Overnight, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Senator Mike Lee’s plan to sell off millions of acres of public lands cannot be included in the FY25 Budget Reconciliation Bill, currently being considered by the Senate. 

His plan was part of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s bill text and would have required the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service to offer up millions of acres of public land across 11 western states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY) for sale. 

A statement from SUWA Executive Director Scott Braden can be found below.
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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

Moab

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Moab, UT 84532

Yard Signs

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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