The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Price field office is proposing to authorize aircraft takeoffs and landings in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness by designating the unauthorized Keg Knoll backcountry airstrip as open for aircraft use. The airstrip is located on the west side of Labyrinth Canyon and north of Canyonlands National Park.
The Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness was designated by Congress in 2019. While the Wilderness Act gives the BLM some discretion to allow (or prohibit) continued use at airstrips that were legally established prior to wilderness designation, it does not allow the agency to authorize aircraft use when the airstrip was not legally open prior to the wilderness designation. That’s the situation here.
The Price office’s 2008 management plan—the land use plan in effect when the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness was established—specifically lists five “existing and currently used backcountry airstrips” for continued noncommercial and limited commercial aviation use; Keg Knoll is not on the list. And for good reason, as it was unused and reclaiming at the time. The agency’s 1999 wilderness inventory of Labyrinth Canyon confirms as much, noting “abandoned airstrips” in the Keg Knoll area. The airstrip was also never identified on the legislative map that accompanied the 2019 bill designating the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness.
Click here to tell the BLM that aircraft use at Keg Knoll is unnecessary and unlawful.
Backcountry airstrips and aircraft use conflict with the reasons most people seek out wilderness in the first place: solitude, natural soundscapes, wildlife, and an experience of remoteness that often can’t be found on other public lands. What’s more, there are plenty of backcountry airstrips throughout Utah that don’t impact designated wilderness areas (only around 4% of BLM land in Utah is designated wilderness).
The BLM is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) and is intending to issue a decision in mid-May. At the Trump administration’s direction, the agency is not planning to release a draft EA to the public or hold a formal public comment period—so please submit your comments as soon as possible.
The Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness is a gem of the American West and should be managed for the benefit and enhancement of the wilderness values it was designated to protect. With your help, we can ensure that the BLM takes seriously its obligation to protect this world-class wilderness area.
Thank you for your support.
