Tell Your Senators to Oppose Anti-Public-Lands Nominee Steve Pearce as BLM Director
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President Trump has nominated former New Mexico Congressman and longtime public lands opponent Steve Pearce to serve as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He is uniquely unqualified to hold this position.
Pearce has long championed the oil and gas industry’s unrestrained drilling and fracking rights at the expense of Americans’ access to public lands, clean air, and clear water. He also supports selling off public lands and was an original cosponsor of legislation that would undermine the Antiquities Act—bedrock legislation used by presidents from both parties to protect deserving and irreplaceable scientific and cultural resources. If the Senate were to confirm Pearce as BLM Director, there’s no doubt that Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments would be at significant risk.
With Pearce at the helm, the BLM will be focused on expanding the fossil fuel industry’s access to public lands. At the same time, Pearce will work to sell off public lands to the highest bidders, preventing public access to popular picnicking, camping, and hiking destinations. See SUWA’s recent statement on Pearce’s nomination and read more on the Public Domain and Westwise Substacks.
>> Take Action: Urge your senators to vote against Steve Pearce’s confirmation as BLM director!
America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act Picks Up Seven More Cosponsors
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Since early September, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA) has gained seven new cosponsors in the U.S. House and Senate. They are: Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-MN-3), Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-2), Rep, Seth Moulton (D-MA-6), Rep Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), and Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ). This brings our total cosponsor tally (so far) to 59 in the House and 18 in the Senate. To see the full list, visit suwa.org/ARRWAcosponsors.
Reintroduced in Congress last spring by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1), ARRWA aims to permanently protect over 8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Utah as federally designated wilderness. Preserving the wild character of this spectacular landscape would keep climate-disrupting fossil fuels in the ground and provide a vital migration corridor for western wildlife species. As the ancestral home of many Native American tribes, the region also contains abundant and significant cultural resources.
Gains in cosponsorship don’t happen by accident; they’re the result of persistent outreach to members of Congress from SUWA staff and activists as well as constituents like you! If your representative and/or senators have not signed onto the bill, please ask them to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act today! Want to get more involved? Reach out to one of our regional organizers.
>> Click here to contact your members of Congress now
Photo © SUWA
Help Shape Recreation Planning Across Central Utah
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The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation is developing a long-term recreation plan to provide a vision for the future of recreation across portions of central Utah and the West Desert. The Utah Central Region Recreation Master Plan, as it’s called, covers tens of thousands of acres of BLM-managed wilderness study areas and other wilderness-quality lands included in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act as well as Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and parts of Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks. The odds are pretty good that at least one of your favorite places is on that list.
So where do you come in? The plan’s website includes an interactive map where members of the public can provide information on favorite places they’d like to see protected, and where recreation improvements or developments may be needed and appropriate. The map is also available in Spanish. Visit suwa.org/RecreationSurvey to access the map and make suggestions.
SUWA is participating in this process to ensure that the plan incorporates the management recommendations of our report, Outdoor Recreation and Ecological Disturbance, A Review of Research and Implications for Management of the Colorado Plateau Province. We’ll keep you updated as the process moves forward.
Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA
Order Your Holiday Gift Items Now
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The giving season is here! Celebrate your love for the redrock with something special from SUWA’s online store. This year we’re excited to offer our brand-new Golden Cathedral hoodies, featuring original artwork by Utah-based artist Anna Leigh Moore. Printed on a soft, durable 70/30 cotton-poly blend and available in two colors, these hoodies are a perfect way to stay cozy while showing your commitment to protecting wild Utah.
You’ll also find our member-favorite SUWA logo hats available in lightweight nylon, sturdy canvas, or beanie style—timeless staples for anyone who wants to wear their love for Utah wilderness year-round.
Whether you’re treating yourself or searching for a thoughtful gift, remember that holiday shipping deadlines are fast approaching. Please order by Monday, December 1st for delivery in time for Hanukkah and Christmas.
>> Click here to visit our online store
What We’ve Been Reading and Listening To
Want to take a deeper dive into the issues and community perspectives surrounding western public lands? Here are some recommendations:
- SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark discusses Utah Senator Mike Lee’s latest anti-public-lands proposals on the Outdoor Minimalist podcast.
- Writer/photographer Stephen Trimble evokes Jane Goodall’s final words in a Writers on the Range piece about current attacks on Utah’s canyon country.
- SUWA board member and GreenLatinos Public Land Program Director Olivia Juarez and Wildlands Director Neal Clark address Senator Mike Lee’s Border Lands Conservation Act in a Rocky Mountain Public Radio story.
