This is an urgent call to action! The future of the San Rafael Swell is at stake!

Representative John Curtis and Senator Orrin Hatch are pushing ahead with their Emery County Public Land Management Act with the goal of passing legislation by the end of the year. They falsely portray the bill as a “win for all stakeholders.” In reality, it is a loss for everyone who values the Swell for its vast wild spaces. Among its many flaws, the bill designates less land as Wilderness than is already protected as Wilderness Study Areas or Natural Areas, leaving 900,000 acres of deserving BLM wild lands unprotected as wilderness.

And the public has not even had a chance to weigh in! You deserve to be heard! That’s why the Utah Wilderness Coalition is holding a “People’s Hearing” in Salt Lake City. Show your support by showing up—or, better yet, come prepared to speak!

Hatch and Curtis may not listen to us (we’ll invite them to the hearing), but we can show the rest of the country—including other members of Congress who will vote on the bill—that Utahns want to protect, not wreck, the San Rafael Swell. The future of the Swell depends on us. We need to speak out now or the magnificent wild lands of this region could be lost forever. Please share this event widely. Bring family and friends! Bring signs!

TO LEARN MORE about why the Emery County Public Land Management Act fails to protect the San Rafael Swell at suwa.org/dontwrecktheswell

In a nutshell, the bill’s major flaws are that it:

• Leaves 900,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands unprotected.
• Neglects extraordinary landscapes: San Rafael Badlands, Muddy Creek, and Labyrinth Canyon.
• Makes ORV abuse worse by enshrining 800 miles of roads and routes that are currently under a court-ordered review by the BLM.
• Conveys 10,000 acres of public land to Goblin Valley State Park, authorizing entrance fees and encouraging more crowding.
• Excludes YOU from the process.