August 29, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Final Resource Management Plan (RMP) – 8.29.24 

Contacts:
Kya Marienfeld, Wildlands Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (435)259-5440 (kya@suwa.org) 
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the release of the final Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the restored Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Attorney Kya Marienfeld and additional information. 

 “We hope that in this final Plan the BLM has taken seriously its duty to protect one of the most treasured public landscapes in America,“ said Kya Marienfeld, SUWA Wildlands Attorney. “Moving forward, we expect that the Monument will once again be managed to protect what makes it like nowhere else – remarkable paleontological discoveries and cultural sites, jaw-dropping scenery, and outstanding intact and diverse natural ecosystems. SUWA will closely monitor the implementation of the final Plan, and continue to encourage management actions that will preserve the monument for current and future generations.”

About the Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was designated as a national monument in 1996 to protect the incredible scientific, ecological, and paleontological resources within its 1.9 million acres. This crown jewel of our nation’s public lands was the first monument managed by the BLM, and was the first unit in the agency’s “National Conservation Lands” program.

Since its establishment, heightened protections for the Monument geology, paleontology, wildlife, plant communities, and ancestral sites have succeeded in preserving these unique values for generations to come, and local communities on the monument’s doorstep have benefited as well. More than 25 years later, the numerous benefits of protecting Grand Staircase-Escalante are clear: the monument preserves a remarkable ecosystem at the landscape-level and sets the stage for future discovery about human, paleontological, and geologic history on the Colorado Plateau.

On December 4, 2017, President Trump ignored millions of public comments and eliminated large swaths of the Monument, slashing it by 47 percent – roughly 900,000 acres. Thankfully, on October 8, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation restoring Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to its full, original boundaries. In 2023, BLM began the process of developing a new management plan. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that the monument is managed for its unique and extraordinary values, as the plan won’t be revised again for decades. During both the scoping phase and after a draft plan was released, SUWA asked its members and supporters to submit comments to the BLM the called for a management plan worthy of this remarkable place.

In August 2023, a Federal District Court Judge in Utah dismissed lawsuits brought by the State of Utah, Blue Ribbon Coalition, and others challenging President Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments in October 2021. The state and other plaintiffs quickly appealed that decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; legal briefs have been filed and the Circuit Court will hold oral argument in September 2024. SUWA and nine other conservation organizations have intervened on behalf of the United States to defend President Biden’s restoration of the Monuments.

Background Information

• BLM E-planning page on the Grand Staircase-Escalante RMP
• SUWA Statement on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) – August 10, 2023
• SUWA Advocacy Actions – Scoping Phase (September 2022); Draft Plan (October 2023)
• SUWA webpage on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 

###
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.