Email Sign-Up
Join our email list to stay informed about Utah wilderness.
Supporters and wilderness advocates like you play a critical role in the protection of Utah’s spectacular wild places.
Join our email list to stay informed about Utah wilderness.
Supporters and wilderness advocates like you play a critical role in the protection of Utah’s spectacular wild places.
Donations of $35 or more automatically include a year’s membership in SUWA.
If you are within six weeks of your annual renewal date or if your membership has lapsed, any gift you make of $35 or more will be processed as a membership renewal.
*Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Our e-newsletter with the latest on redrock wilderness news and events.
The heart behind activism can sometimes be overlooked– but it’s often what grounds us in why we do this work. That couldn’t be more true for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. This spring, they passed a Resolution in support of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA) and Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. The church’s support benefits future generations of Americans and show respect for Indigenous people with ties to the land, and it furthers action to combat climate change and stem the global loss of biodiversity by protecting habitat for all living beings.
Joining this episode to discuss the importance of this resolution as one component of protecting all living things are three people from the Episcopal Church in Utah: the Very Reverend Tyler Doherty, the Dean & Rector at St Mark’s Cathedral; Ron Barness, a longtime member of St Mark’s who serves on the vestry and is chair of the Creation Care sub-committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah; and Forrest Cuch, a Ute tribal Elder, Senior Warden at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Whiterocks, Utah, and a member of the Creation Care sub-committee.
Sign up to stay in the loop on redrock news and actions from SUWA!
Wild Utah is made possible by the contributing members of SUWA. Thank you for your support!
Become a SUWA member today and support the Wild Utah Podcast
wildutah.info/Stitcher
wildutah.info/Apple
wildutah.info/Spotify
Theme music is by Haley Noel Austin, with interlude music by Larry Pattis.
Dave Pacheco is the host of Wild Utah.
Post studio production and editing is by Laura Borichevsky.
Q: What’s the difference between “open dispersed” and “designated dispersed” camping? What are the benefits of moving to a designated dispersed system in southern Utah?
The difference between “open dispersed” camping (also known as “undeveloped” or “primitive” camping) and “designated dispersed” is site designation. This means when you’re out on public lands looking for a primitive campsite, you will need to find a pre-designated and already-disturbed spot with a marker placed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) indicating that it is a dispersed camping spot.
According to the draft environmental assessment (EA) from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for one of the proposed camping management areas, there are several benefits to providing designated dispersed camping in crowded places like southern Utah, as opposed to a completely open model:
Q: Will this change mean that camping is harder to find or access? What if my favorite dispersed camping spot isn’t “designated”?
The good news for recreationists is that, through a designated dispersed management strategy, there will be many, many popular sites designated throughout the areas. Because the intent of this approach is to make it more obvious as to what sites exist for dispersed camping, sites that have been consistently used in the past are far more likely to be designated because they are already obvious as disturbed areas. In short: current popular sites will likely be included.
Additionally, when it comes to access of sites, this management strategy will likely result in an easier time getting to sites and finding them because sites will be easily visible, dispersed logically over accessible areas, and located near vehicle access points.
However, a dispersed site may not be designated in this management process if it has adverse impacts on wildlife, cultural resources, or other important ecosystem or visitor considerations.
Q: So does this mean that I’ll have to camp around a bunch of other people, or won’t be able to find solitude like I can now?
No. Done properly, a designated dispersed system should improve your camping experience. Proper site planning can ensure that public land users have a quality experience when camping, including quiet soundscapes, dark skies, and scenic views.
Q: Will there be a financial cost to go dispersed camping where it used to be free? How do land management agencies balance the need for ecological, wildlife, and cultural resource protection with equitable access for recreationists– especially those on the lower end of the socioeconomic bracket?
Dispersed camping will still be free and will not require a permit or reservation in the areas currently proposed for a “designated dispersed” system.
By directing recreationists, including campers, hikers, and other public user groups to designated and planned-for campsites (including primitive, free sites), trails, and recreation locations closer to the “frontcountry,” land management agencies are best able to balance human experiences and impacts with other considerations of natural ecosystems. For example, wildlife do best when important habitat for migration, breeding, and other life events is largely free of human disturbance.
Cultural sites also benefit from careful management and education. This includes leaving them unpromoted since high visitation can damage sensitive structures and artifacts, and Tribes with ancestral connections to these sites seek their continued protection.
Proactively managing for public land use in locations that are the most accessible to all visitors regardless of financial ability also brings equity into public lands recreation by allowing land managers to accommodate new user groups and ensure that all members of the public can make connections with public lands.
Concentrating use in appropriate and accessible areas allows land management agencies to minimize development and protect less-impacted backcountry ecosystems. Recreation ecology shows that the majority of impacts to wildlife, cultural sites, soils, and vegetation occur as a result of *initial* use, while additional use at previously-hardened and impacted sites, even at high levels, results in minimal additional impacts.
Q: In places like Grand County, dispersed camping has become an informal method of housing seasonal employees who support the tourism industry in Moab. How will this change in land management methodology impact those folks, and others who use dispersed camping to live in southern Utah?
As residents of rural southern Utah ourselves, we are aware of how important it is to our communities for residents to be able to dispersed-camp on public lands, especially during the extreme housing crisis that towns across the West are currently experiencing. Changes like those proposed by the Moab BLM are unlikely to negatively impact these community members for two reasons:
Our e-newsletter with the latest on redrock wilderness news and events.
SUWA is pleased to announce that on Friday April 29th, at their 117th annual convention, lay and clergy delegates of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah passed a Resolution in Support of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act and for the Perpetual Protection and Management of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.
The 155-year-old Episcopal Church in Utah officially supports the campaigns to protect these special places, and it will actively work for congressional passage of America’s Redrock Wilderness Act. These efforts benefit future generations of Americans and show respect for Indigenous people with ties to the land. The church’s support strengthens the America the Beautiful effort to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, and it furthers action to combat climate change and stem the global loss of biodiversity by protecting habitat for all living beings. The strong support demonstrated by the Episcopal Diocese of Utah is greatly appreciated.