Public Lands Sell-Off Amendment Removed from House Budget Bill!
In early May, under the cover of darkness and without an opportunity for review by other members of Congress or the public, Representatives Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) and Mark Amodei (R-NV-2) introduced an amendment to the House Budget bill that would have forced the sell-off of over 11,000 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Utah and at least 500,000 acres in Nevada.
SUWA and the larger conservation community quickly sprang into action—launching advocacy actions, protesting the amendment at events, creating materials highlighting the places at risk, leading sign-on letters to House leadership, and attracting media attention. Tens of thousands of people reached out to their members of Congress in just a few weeks.
Good news: the public pressure campaign worked! Just last night, House Republicans removed the public lands sell-off amendment from the budget bill. “As we hoped would be the case, Rep. Maloy’s stunt failed,” said SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill. “She’s just the latest in a long list of politicians with the bad idea to try and sell off public lands. The through line of those failed efforts is this: love of public lands transcends geography and political party. Americans don’t want to see these lands sold off and time and time again have risen up to make their voices heard.”
Thank you to everyone who made this possible by contacting your members of Congress, showing up at events, and so much more! The budget bill is still awful, but today we’re celebrating this win.
Read more in the Salt Lake Tribune and on KSL News.
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
A Disappointing Outcome for Glen Canyon
We’re sorry to report that both the U.S. House and Senate have approved a joint resolution rescinding a National Park Service rule that limited off-highway vehicles and street-legal all-terrain vehicles on 25 miles of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s most delicate landscapes. The rule was established to protect the ecological integrity and visitor experience of the park and did not close any roads to all motorized use.
Utah’s congressional delegation—led by Senators John Curtis and Mike Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy (UT-02)—relied on an obscure law known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to pass the resolution, opening sensitive landscapes to fast-moving, dust-stirring sport vehicles.
“Congressional Republicans, who have previously said that the National Park Service was immune from their destructive agenda, made it clear: they lied. Led by the Utah delegation, they voted to undermine the Park Service and instead bowed to extreme motorized recreation in some of the most remote and wild parts of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area,” said SUWA Staff Attorney Hanna Larsen. “Today’s action means that Orange Cliffs, Gunsight Butte, and Canyonlands National Park’s Maze District will be impaired by noisy, destructive off-highway vehicles. It’s a dark day for all who love Southern Utah and Glen Canyon’s wild places.’’
SUWA is grateful to all the redrock advocates who responded to our urgent alerts and spoke up for Glen Canyon by sending more than 9,700 messages to their members of Congress opposing this reckless resolution.
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
Misnamed “Fix Our Forests Act” Is Subject of Senate Hearing
In April, the incorrectly named Fix Our Forests Act or FOFA (S. 1462) was introduced in the US Senate, and in early May, the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hosted a Legislative Hearing. Following the hearing, SUWA Wildlands Attorney Kya Marienfeld said:
We appreciate the thoughtfulness of Senators Bennet, Welch, Smith, Schiff, and Klobuchar, who in today’s hearing pressed for clarity on what’s truly essential for forest health and wildfire resilience: robust, well-resourced land management agencies. Unfortunately, the current version of this bill still falls far short of its stated aims.
Rather than advancing forest restoration or safeguarding communities from wildfire, it erodes bedrock environmental protections, risking further degradation of treasured landscapes and leaving communities more vulnerable to destructive fires, not less. Equally troubling, the bill would sideline science while stripping transparency and public input from restoration decisions—precisely the wrong approach for effective, enduring wildfire prevention and ecosystem health.
Read our full statement here. It’s anticipated that additional changes will be made to the bill and SUWA has an advocacy action targeting members of the Agriculture Committee. Find out if you have a senator on the committee and take action to Protect Forests and Woodlands on Public Lands!
Photo © SUWA/Judi Brawer
America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act Gains Ten New Cosponsors!
While the fight for the protection of our public lands can feel tiring and never-ending, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate those who are right there with us in the fight.
When America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act was reintroduced in March by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), 13 Senators and 41 House Representatives signed on as original cosponsors. Since reintroduction, 3 Senators and 7 House members have formally endorsed the bill. They are: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH-1), Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT-2), Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR-6), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-4), Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR-3). If you’re a constituent of any of the above legislators, please reach out and thank them for their support.
America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act aims to permanently protect over 8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Utah as federally designated wilderness, including iconic landscapes with evocative names like Labyrinth Canyon, Robbers Roost, and the Kaiparowits Plateau.
Senator Durbin and Representative Stansbury continue to be tireless and powerful voices of support for wilderness protection, with 16 Senators and 48 representatives now backing them up—but we can’t stop there! If your representative and/or senators have not yet cosponsored, please ask them to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act today! And if you’d like to get more involved, reach out to your regional organizer and ask about joining a group meeting to speak with your members of Congress about cosponsorship!
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
Stewardship Season Is in Full Swing—Apply for a Project Today!
On May 1st, our Stewardship Program formally launched its 10th season of programming, partnering with local land managers to ensure that impacts to Utah’s wild places are effectively addressed. For over a decade, we’ve worked in tandem with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to preserve and enhance the wilderness character and ecological integrity of lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. We remain committed for the long haul, restoring and naturalizing landscapes while educating the general public via hands-on service and campfire chats.
Already this season, we have completed 8 projects over 29 days with 77 stalwart volunteers committing 1,355 hours of labor. We have restored 174,956 square feet of off-road vehicle impacted desert lands, rehabilitated nearly 20 miles of non-permitted illegal routes, built 1,700 feet of protective fencing, and removed 535 pounds of trash from our public lands. And we are just getting started.
We invite you to join us this summer and fall to learn more about what it takes to be a wilderness steward. Visit our 2025 Project Calendar and apply for a project today. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at volunteer@suwa.org.
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
New Merch Drop: Golden Cathedral Hooded Sweatshirt!
We’re thrilled to unveil our brand new hooded sweatshirt featuring original artwork donated by Utah-based artist Anna Leigh Moore. Inspired by The Golden Cathedral—a stunning natural amphitheater tucked deep within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument—Anna’s piece reflects its quiet beauty and magic wonderfully.
Available in Dusty Sage and Sandstone, this hooded sweatshirt is soft, cozy, and made to last—just like our commitment to protecting America’s redrock wilderness.
Visit our online store to view available sizes and place your order today!
