Last Call for Scoping Comments on the Paunsaugunt Travel Management Plan
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing a motorized travel management plan for the greater Paunsaugunt area outside of Kanab—a plan that will determine where off-road vehicle (ORV) use is allowed in this incredible place for decades to come.
Just west of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and south of Bryce Canyon National Park, the Paunsaugunt travel management area encompasses roughly 200,000 acres of BLM-managed lands. The diverse character of the area, from lava flows and sand dunes to ponderosa pine forests and thousand-foot-high cliffs, provides spectacular opportunities for quiet recreation. The region also encompasses significant cultural sites and important wildlife habitat.
The BLM is currently in the “scoping” phase of its travel planning process, which identifies issues the agency must consider. It is vital that the BLM hears from the public that the current route network is not acceptable, and that the number and mileage of motorized routes must be reduced to minimize damage and protect public land resources.
>> Click here to submit your comments to the BLM by this Friday, March 25th
>> Learn more by listening to our latest podcast: Access Not Excess
You can also receive text alerts on all the travel planning comment deadlines by texting UTAH TRAVEL to 52886.
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
Book Cliffs Highway Project Tabled Once Again
On March 10th, the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition voted 4-3 to cancel further planning on the controversial Book Cliffs Highway—a 35-mile paved road that would have stretched from Vernal to Moab, Utah—and officially withdrew its application with the Bureau of Land Management. Steadfastly opposed by citizens and elected leaders in Moab and Grand County for more than 30 years, this decision is a tremendous victory for wild places and wildlife in Utah’s remote Book Cliffs region. Thanks to all who have worked hard to protect this wild landscape!
Photo © Lin Alder
SUWA Kicks Off 2022 Stewardship Field Season
Registration for the 2022 Stewardship Program season is open! Over the past week our crews have remediated the impacts of nonpermitted off-road vechicle travel in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and near Bears Ears National Monument. Tasks included revegetating and restoring over 2.5 miles of nonpermitted routes, cleaning or removing nearly a dozen dispersed campsites, and building 200 feet of protective buck and rail fencing.
Please consider joining one of our many upcoming projects this season. View our project calendar online, then complete a general application to apply. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at volunteer@suwa.org or (435) 259-9151. Hope to see you in the field in 2022!
Congratulations to the Winners of Our 2nd Annual Stewardship Scholar Essay Contest!
SUWA is pleased to announce the winners of our 2021 Stewardship Scholar Essay Contest: grand prize recipient Sauvelyne (Addie) Randel (CO) and semi-finalists Keon Nez (CO/NM) and Felipe de Jesús Ruiz (UT).
Recognizing that people of color have historically been left out of the U.S. public land conservation movement, SUWA is committed to raising up diverse voices from across the West. Our essay contest awards cash scholarships to college/vocational students who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color living in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, or a Tribal Nation in the region. Announcement of the 2022 contest, including topics, will be made this summer. Join our email list to receive first notice!
>> Click here to read about Addie, Keon, and Felipe and be inspired by their words.
Latinos Say Conservation is Priority
In this year’s Colorado College “Conservation in the West” survey, Latinos and Hispanics have reiterated that protecting land is more important than sacrificing it for extraction. An impressive 87% of Latino voters support protecting 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, and 75% think that oil and gas development on public lands should be stopped or strictly limited. We invite you to demonstrate Latinx conservation power with SUWA’s activism initiative, Latinos for Utah Wilderness.
Latinos for Utah Wilderness is where you can get involved in wilderness defense with fellow Latino/a/x & Hispanic community members and allies. Our intention is to conserve sacred lands in ways that embrace Hispanic and Latino culture, celebrate Latino leadership and representation, and promote joy and community. All are welcome to our spring meetup. Click here to register.
Meet Five Activists Making Redrock History
For National Women’s History Month this year, we’re staying rooted in the present to bring you our list of exemplary activists currently making history in the Utah wilderness movement. These are today’s undaunted visionaries: the decision makers, the movers and shakers, the status quo breakers. In other words, they are exactly the strong, creative, impassioned voices we need to bring the movement into the 21st Century and beyond.
