May 10, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on the release of the Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil Travel Management Plan Preliminary Alternatives – 5.10.24
Contacts:
Laura Peterson, Staff Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (801) 236-3762; laura@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) released preliminary alternatives for the Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil motorized vehicle Travel Management Plan. Below is a statement from SUWA Staff Attorney Laura Peterson and additional information.
“Spanning from Capitol Reef National Park to Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the remote and stunning landscapes encompassed within this planning area are at the heart of Utah’s redrock country,” said Laura Peterson, SUWA Staff Attorney. “BLM’s previous travel management plan for this spectacular area was heavily skewed in favor of motorized use at the expense of natural and cultural resources as well as other users seeking a quieter experience. This new travel plan is an opportunity for BLM to bring a more balanced approach to where vehicle use should and should not occur. We look forward to reviewing the preliminary alternatives and encouraging our members to speak up and make their voices heard.”
Additional information:
The area included within the plan encompasses roughly 1,150,000 acres of BLM-managed lands primarily within the Richfield Field Office’s Henry Mountains Field Station. It is made up of several distinct and renowned landscapes, including the Dirty Devil Canyon complex (which the Navajo Nation has identified as a Traditional Cultural Property; the complex also includes Butch Cassidy’s infamous hideout, Robber’s Roost), the Henry Mountains (the last mountain range to be mapped in the lower 48 states), and the stunning badlands surrounding Factory Butte (named by early settlers who thought its outline resembled a huge factory building).
Preliminary alternatives are an initial look at the different route networks the BLM will eventually analyze as part of a draft environmental assessment (as part of the National Environmental Policy Act or “NEPA” process).
The Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil Travel Management Plan is one of 11 travel plans the BLM is completing over the next few years as part of a 2017 court-supervised settlement agreement between the agency, conservation, and ORV groups. Covering more than 6 million acres of BLM-managed lands in eastern and southern Utah, these plans determine where motorized vehicles will be allowed on some of Utah’s wildest public lands. To date, the BLM has completed three of the 11 plans, with others underway. Read more about SUWA’s litigation to ensure these travel plans follow federal laws to protect public lands and resources.
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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.
