Here's what is happening this month with the redrock:
1. 21 conservation groups and YOU ask the Obama administration to protect wilderness.
2. Take action to help save Sevier Lake!
3. Read a recap of the 2010 SUWA Roundup.
4. Remember to talk to candidates about Utah wilderness this election season!
5. See SUWA's Wild Utah slideshow this November.
Join 21 Conservation Groups in Asking the Obama Administration to Protect Wilderness
Fiddler Butte proposed wilderness is under threat from the "No More Wilderness" policy. Photo copyright Ray Bloxham/SUWA. |
Today, SUWA and 20 other national and western-based conservation groups delivered a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar renewing our request for new wilderness guidance that would lead to the protection of new wilderness study areas. Please join us in asking the Obama administration to protect wilderness in the West!
Even though President Obama proclaimed National Wilderness Month in September, the administration still has not overturned the "No More Wilderness" policy which leaves millions of acres of wilderness-quality lands in Utah and throughout the West threatened by energy development, mining, and off-road vehicle abuse. Now, we have a new petition on Change.org which makes it easy for you to send a message to the Obama administration and to encourage your friends to do so as well. Thank you for the messages you have sent to Secretary Salazar thus far on this issue — now please take a moment to help us spread the word!
And a big thanks to Change.org's environment page for blogging about this topic today.
Threatened Places: Sevier Lake
View of Sevier Lake from the House Range. Photo copyright Ray Bloxham/SUWA. |
Despite its harsh surroundings and intermittent nature, the Sevier Lake is a key component of the Great Salt Lake migratory pathway for shorebirds. Undeveloped and remote, it sits bookended by proposed wilderness on both the west and east. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management is now considering leasing this entire area for potash development, an industrial process requiring large dike networks and holding ponds. Such development would ruin the natural beauty of this area and potentially compromise its important ecological function. Please take a moment to let the BLM know that you oppose its current plan to lease the Sevier Lake bed for potash development by sending a message to George Cruz, Natural Resource Specialist in the Fillmore BLM Field Office.
Link to the Sevier Lake leasing proposal: https://www.blm.gov/ut/enbb/files/Sevier_Lake_Leasing_EA__Sept__20_2010_.pdf.
We held our 2010 SUWA Roundup on the weekend of September 24-26 at Hidden Splendor in the San Rafael Swell. Seventy redrock wilderness supporters from around the country joined SUWA staff for the event. Attendees enjoyed fabulous weather, went on some fantastic hikes, and participated in discussions about Utah wilderness protection issues. In honor of National Public Lands Day (Sept. 25) a team of 15 Roundup volunteers participated in a 6 hour long service project, signing and fencing areas closed to off-road vehicles along Muddy Creek. Click here to view interviews with some of the Roundup participants.
Remember the Redrock During This Campaign Season
Leading up to Election Day on November 2, candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate will be on the road and speaking to potential constituents near you. If you attend an event with a candidate, this is a fantastic opportunity to ask him/her to support protecting Utah wilderness! Please remember to thank current cosponsors of America's Red Rock Wilderness Act for their support, and to ask other candidates to cosponsor the red rock bill if elected. Hearing straight from you about why people in your state/district care about protecting Utah wilderness is one of the most effective ways to convince members of Congress to become cosponsors.
If you are able to speak to a candidate about Utah wilderness, please send an email to Jackie Feinberg, SUWA's National Grassroots Organizer at jackie@suwa.org so that if the candidate is elected, our DC staff will be able to follow up with his/her office next year. Thanks for all of your efforts to help protect the redrock!
Attend a Wild Utah Presentation in November
SUWA's multi-media slideshow presentation, Wild Utah: America's Redrock Wilderness, will be traveling in Fall 2010!
SUWA's Midwest Field Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, will be presenting in Indiana and Iowa this November. For more information or to schedule a slideshow in the Midwest, email Clayton at clayton@suwa.org.
SUWA's National Grassroots Organizer, Jackie Feinberg, will be showing the slideshow in Maryland in November. For more information or to schedule a slideshow along the East Coast, email at jackie@suwa.org.