February 24, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on Completion of the Dingell Act Land Exchange – 2.24.25
Will result in better management of designated wilderness areas in Emery County
Contacts:
Travis Hammill, DC Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (703) 725-8348; travis@suwa.org
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Washington, DC – Saturday, an agreement was signed between the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Utah Trust Lands Administration (TLA) to finalize the Dingell Act Land Exchange, as outlined in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019. Below is a quote from SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill and additional information.
“The Dingell Act Land Exchange will result in stronger protections for the outstanding San Rafael Swell in southern Utah. It ensures the long-term protection of designated wilderness areas in Emery County – federal public lands that will no longer be at risk from the threat of development and inconsistent management that comes with a checkerboard pattern of state and federal land ownership,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director for SUWA.
“But let’s be clear: in no way, shape, or form does this land exchange “return” federal land to the State of Utah as Governor Cox and Senator Curtis misleadingly claim. The State of Utah has no legitimate claim to federal public lands, and land exchanges like this one are standard action to streamline land management following the designation of wilderness areas, a national park, or a national monument. The proposed Bears Ears National Monument Land Exchange has languished for years in Congress and we hope that Utah political leaders, who have so jubilantly celebrated the Dingell Act Land Exchange, will have similar enthusiasm for getting the Bears Ears Land Exchange across the finish line.”
Additional Information
The Dingell Act, which was signed into law on March 12, 2019, established a process for exchanging TLA lands out of designated wilderness and the 217,000-acre San Rafael Swell Recreation Area. The legislation designated 663,000 acres of BLM-managed wilderness, within 17 new wilderness areas. In addition, the legislation established the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area, added 63 miles of the Green River to the National Wild and Scenic River System, and designated the John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area and the Jurassic National Monument.
- View SUWA’s webpage and story map on the Act.
- SUWA’s Nov. 15, 2024 Statement on the Land Exchange
Information on the proposed Bears Ears Land exchange, including a statement from the July 12, 2023 Senate Energy & Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing can be found here.
###
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.
