February 12, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Announces 2026 Stewardship Season Project Calendar – 2.12.26
Trips begin in March and registration is live now
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Salt Lake City, UT – The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) has released its 2026 Stewardship Season Project Calendar. The Stewardship Program, now in its 11th season, offers service-learning opportunities that allow volunteers to experience firsthand the public lands SUWA is working with its members and supporters to protect. This year’s calendar includes 27 projects, with several projects in designated Wilderness areas such as Dark Canyon and Red Mountain, as well as Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Review the full project calendar and application form; additional projects will be added to the calendar as the season progresses.
“For over a decade, SUWA’s Stewardship program has been a steady presence on the ground, ensuring the protection of public land though hands-on restoration work while building a passionate community of wilderness stewards, said Jeremy Lynch, SUWA Stewardship Director. “Whether it’s a multi-day backpacking trip deep in a National Monument, a short weekend in the West Desert, or a half-day rehabilitating public lands close to Salt Lake City, this year’s project calendar highlights the diversity of public lands (and public lands volunteers!) and the many different ways volunteers help protect these remarkable places. I hope we see you on a trip this year, deepening your relationship with public lands in Utah.”
During the 2026 project season (March through early November), trips will vary from half-day excursions, to two-to-three-night campouts, to weeklong backpacking trips. This year, there will be trips focused on designated Wilderness Implementation, as well as trips focused on Wilderness Study Area (WSA) Protection and Monitoring; WSAs are eligible as wilderness under SUWA’s signature legislation, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. Several trips address protecting cultural resources or the impacts of increasing recreation.
Every listing on the project calendar provides a rundown of the project scope and level of difficulty, as well as the general application and acceptance process. Individuals may apply for up to two projects for the 2026 season. Interested individuals can complete a general application here. Registration will fill up quickly so we encourage interested individuals to apply ASAP. SUWA has select scholarships available for qualifying individuals and groups who would like to join a stewardship project. If you have any questions about a scholarship or a project, please reach out to Stewardship Director Jeremy Lynch at jeremy@suwa.org.
Additional Resources:
- SUWA Web Page on Stewardship Program
- 2026 Project Calendar and Application Form
- Stewardship Program Scholarship Information and Application
- 2025 Stewardship Season Year in Review
- Less-than-a-minute explainer video about the Stewardship Program.
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters 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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
