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SUWA Action Alerts Archives
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August 31st, 2017Labor Day commemorates the social and economic achievements of American workers. This century-old tradition began in the spirit of protest from laborers fighting for fair wages, better working conditions, and a 40-hour work week.
These days we get to celebrate this tradition in the spirit of leisure, often by spending time in public lands across America on Labor Day weekend.
SUWA supporters and members nationally have worked for decades to protect America’s redrock public lands. Amid the ongoing attack on national monuments, you’ve taken a stand. You’ve showed up at rallies, met with your legislators, called public officials, written to local newspapers, and volunteered countless hours to conserve public land in Utah for all.
This hard work to save our national monuments was largely ignored by Interior Secretary Zinke in his recent report to the president recommending that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments be reduced. So this Labor Day weekend, let’s make ourselves visible. If your plans take you to public lands anywhere, capture photos of your adventures and let the pictures do the talking.
Demonstrate your support for the irreplaceable treasures protected in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments by posting your weekend images on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If Interior Secretary Zinke and the Trump administration can’t hear the nation’s call for the complete preservation of national monuments in Utah, this is a proactive way to show them.
Join us in the national movement to preserve monuments in Utah by sharing your public land images on social media, commenting on your support for public lands in Utah, and using the hashtags:
#SaveGrandStaircase | #ProtectBearsEars | #MonumentsForAll
#ProtectWildUtah | #LaborDayTag SUWA, Interior Secretary Zinke, and the President of the United States to assure you are seen:
- @protectwildutah, @usinterior, @realdonaldtrump on Instagram
- @SouthernUtahWildernessAlliance, @SecretaryRyanZinke, @POTUS on Facebook
- @SouthernUTWild, @SecretaryZinke, @POTUS on Twitter
Please wordsmith your own post using the hashtags and profile tags above.
We wish you fun adventures on this holiday weekend, and thank you for your active support of wild Utah.
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July 19th, 2017Once again, your voice in defense of Utah’s wild places is urgently needed.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to lease 79 parcels for oil and gas development on approximately 100,000 acres of federal public lands in eastern and central Utah. Included in this list are parcels along the western edge of the San Rafael Swell, in the heart of the Desolation Canyon region, the Book Cliffs, and immediately adjacent to Dinosaur National Monument.
Leasing in the San Rafael Swell
For the third time in five years, the BLM is proposing to offer leases in the Molen Reef region of the western San Rafael Swell—an area with high cultural and archaeological density and outstanding recreational opportunities. The agency’s initial decision to offer these leases in 2013 drew immediate and widespread criticism, including a large public protest in front of the BLM’s state headquarters in Salt Lake City.Ultimately, the agency determined that it did not have enough information regarding cultural and archaeological resources to justify leasing the area for oil and gas development. In 2015, the BLM once again deferred leasing in the Molen Reef region, citing the continuing need to gather more cultural and archaeological resource information.
Citizens protested a very similar BLM lease sale for the San Rafael Swell in 2013. It was a bad idea then and it’s a bad idea now. Copyright Terri Martin/SUWA
To date, the agency has still not completed those cultural resource inventories. In fact, the BLM admits that it has surveyed at most only 2.9 percent of the proposed parcels and thus is in no stronger a position to justify leasing now than it was in 2013. The agency’s leasing flip-flop is a disservice to this remarkable wilderness-caliber landscape and its thousands of known—and yet to be discovered—cultural resources.
Leasing near Dinosaur National Monument and in the Desolation Canyon and Book Cliffs regions
In a return to the Bush administration’s scorched earth approach to oil and gas leasing in the Uinta Basin, the BLM is also proposing to offer leases in areas proposed for wilderness designation in the Desolation Canyon and Book Cliffs regions as well as immediately adjacent to Dinosaur National Monument.This ill-advised proposal would, among other things, green-light oil and gas development right next to the monument, including along the primary access route travelled by thousands of visitors annually. One of the parcels was previously offered at the BLM’s infamous December 2008 oil and gas lease sale and later withdrawn from sale by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar after a successful lawsuit by SUWA and others blocked its issuance.
In a letter to the BLM, the National Park Service has objected to the leasing proposal, citing adverse impacts to air quality, viewsheds, dark night skies, water quality, and natural soundscapes. Oil and gas development on the parcels near the monument would be visible from the Quarry Visitor Center as well as from numerous vantage points within the monument.
Thank you.
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July 6th, 2017This coming Monday, July 10, is the final day for you to tell Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that he and President Trump need to leave Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments intact.
Click here to submit your comment to the Department of Interior today.
On June 12th, Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke issued an interim report recommending that Bears Ears National Monument be significantly reduced in size—a move that simultaneously dishonored Native American Tribes and ignored the input of hundreds of thousands of American citizens.
Meanwhile, Secretary Zinke has invited local counties to submit revised boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante—a well established monument celebrated for revitalizing local communities and yielding stunning paleontological discoveries.
With both monuments under siege, a strong record of public support is essential. If you haven’t made your voice heard yet, now is the time. Tell Secretary Zinke to leave Utah’s monuments alone!
>> Click here for more information on Bears Ears.
>> Click here for more information on Grand Staircase-Escalante.
Your comments are urgently needed. Please take action today.
Thank you!
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June 23rd, 2017Read More »Our e-newsletter with the latest on redrock wilderness news and events.
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June 22nd, 2017Acting in lockstep with the Trump administration’s relentless onslaught against federal public lands, the BLM is proposing to offer at the agency’s December 2017 oil and gas lease sale 79 parcels for leasing and development on approximately 100,000 acres of federal public lands in eastern and central Utah. Included in this list are parcels along the western edge of the San Rafael Swell and immediately adjacent to Dinosaur National Monument.
Leasing in the San Rafael Swell
For the third time in five years, the BLM is proposing to offer leases in the Molen Reef region of the western San Rafael Swell—an area with high cultural and archaeological density and outstanding recreational opportunities. The BLM’s initial decision to offer these leases in 2013 drew immediate and widespread criticism, including a large public protest in front of the agency’s state headquarters in Salt Lake City. Ultimately, the agency determined that it did not have enough information regarding cultural and archaeological resources to justify leasing the area for oil and gas development. In 2015, the BLM once again deferred leasing in the Molen Reef region, citing the continuing need to gather more cultural and archaeological resource information.To date, the agency has still not completed those cultural resource inventories. In fact, the BLM admits it has surveyed at most only 2.9 percent of the proposed parcels and thus is in no stronger a position to justify leasing now than it was in 2013. The agency’s leasing flip-flop is a disservice to this remarkable wilderness-caliber landscape and its thousands of known—and yet to be discovered—cultural resources.
View of lease area in the western San Rafael Swell (Eagle Canyon/Molen Reef region). Copyright Ray Bloxham/SUWA.
Leasing on the Doorstep of Dinosaur National Monument
In a return to the Bush administration’s scorched earth approach to oil and gas leasing in the Uinta Basin, the BLM is also proposing to offer leases immediately adjacent to Dinosaur National Monument. This ill-advised proposal would green-light oil and gas development right next to the monument, including along the primary access route travelled by thousands of visitors annually. In fact, one of the parcels proposed for sale was previously offered at BLM’s infamous December 2008 oil and gas lease sale and later withdrawn from sale by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar after a successful lawsuit by SUWA and others blocked its issuance.In a letter to the BLM, the National Park Service has objected to the leasing proposal, citing the adverse impacts to air quality, viewsheds, dark night skies, water quality, and natural soundscapes.
The BLM is currently accepting public comments on its oil and gas leasing proposal. With your help we were able to fight off earlier attempts to auction off public lands in these areas to private industrial development—and we will do so again. Our public lands deserve better than this. Please make your voice heard by submitting comments today.
>> Click here to comment on the San Rafael Swell Lease parcels
>> Click here to comment on the Dinosaur National Monument lease parcels