January 3, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Advisory – Public Lands Rally on Saturday, January 11 at Noon
Will show unwavering local support for protected public lands and wild places across Utah
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
What: Public lands and environmental advocates are excited to announce a Public Lands Rally – “Standing Together: Land Love & Hope.” Community members, activists, and environmental organizations will demonstrate unwavering local support for protected public lands and wild places across Utah, especially Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.
When: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 12 p.m. A short program with speakers will begin at 12:15.
Where: South Steps of the Utah State Capitol (350 State Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103)
Who: Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP on Facebook or here. Members of the media are asked to RVSP to Grant Stevens, Communications Director at SUWA; (319) 427-0260 or grant@suwa.org. If you can’t join us in person, you can watch via a live video on the SUWA Facebook page (a Facebook account is not required, and you can watch it at any time). The video will begin a few minutes before noon day-of. Spokespeople will be available to speak with the media. Please reach out to Grant for additional information.
Other details: Speakers at the rally include Louise Fernandez, Youth Activist; Luz Escamilla, Utah Senate Minority Leader; Autumn Gillard, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah; Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, former co-chair of the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition; and Terry Tempest Williams, Author and Advocate. The rally will be emceed by Georgie Pongyesva, Tribal Liaison/Consultant.
Attendees are encouraged to walk, bike, take public transit, or carpool if possible. Parking is limited and can be found primarily on surrounding streets and the north and east sides of the Capitol. The rally will be accessible to all abilities and up-close parking is also available.
Current threats to public lands in Utah include:
- Potential reductions to Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Following illegal reductions in 2017, both Monuments were restored in 2021, but the State of Utah has filed litigation challenging these restorations.
- Governor Cox’s attempted Land Grab Lawsuit. In an unprecedented move, the state has filed a lawsuit with the US Supreme Court, asking the Court to take up a case that would likely result in the sale of 18.5 million acres of public lands in Utah to the highest bidder. The State is also spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money on a propaganda campaign
- Ongoing attacks on clean air, clear water, and common-sense conservation. Whether it’s celebrating not having to comply with the Good Neighbor Rule to improve air quality, opposing conservation efforts through the new Public Lands Rule, or failing to adequately address regional haze in national parks, Utah’s elected officials are working to make Utah a less healthy place for its growing population.
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
