October 7, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Trump Administration Pushes New Coal Leasing Just Outside Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Parks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument- 10.7.25
Coal leasing puts internationally-renowned landscapes at risk
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Caitlyn Burford, Senior Communications Manager, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), cburford@npca.org (541) 371-6452
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, ascibetta@nrdc.org, (202) 289-2421
Aaron Paul, Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (303) 477-1486 (apaul@grandcanyontrust.org)
Washington, DC – Last week, the Trump Administration announced it is making previously off-limits public land available for coal leasing under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), including 48,000 acres in Utah administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This announcement signals the administration’s intent to push speculative coal development on public lands next to national parks and monuments. New analysis from conservation groups (see additional information maps below) shows parcels available for leasing directly adjacent to or near Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Parks and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Additional information and quotes can be found below.
“The Trump Administration views Southern Utah’s remarkable redrock country as just another place to exploit and plunder as they promote new coal mining. Nothing could be further from the truth. America’s national parks, national monuments, and wild public lands don’t deserve this fate and we’ll work tirelessly to stop it from happening,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).
“Coal mines near Zion, Bryce Canyon or Capitol Reef? It’s absurd. It was decided decades ago that these lands would be off the table,” said Cory MacNulty, Southwest Campaign Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Dirty energy development has no place near our national parks, especially as iconic landscapes across the Southwest are already at risk of having hazy skies, polluted water, and a degraded visitor experience from nearby drilling and mining. This is an out-of-touch attempt to turn back the clock and force coal mining near Utah’s national parks.”
Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
One nearly 12,000-acre parcel available for lease is directly adjacent to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, sitting along the western side of the Monument, and south of Bryce Canyon National Park. Another parcel is located on a section of public land between the Monument and the Park. If coal leasing and development were to move forward, visitors would see impacts from the Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive and its various overlooks in the southern portion of the park.
“The potential coal mining lease on the northwestern border with Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a bad idea because the water that flows through this section feeds the tributaries of the Paria River, which breathes life into the landscape of Grand Staircase-Escalante,” said Dr. Jacqualine Grant, Executive Director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners. “National Parks, Monuments, and private landowners will all feel the impact of these decisions.”
“These are world‑class public lands and should be treasured, not trashed,” said Bobby McEnaney, Director of Land Conservation at NRDC. “Allowing dirty, polluting coal mining at the doorstep of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Grand Staircase–Escalante will destroy exactly what makes these places singular—clean air, dark skies, thriving wildlife, and the economies they sustain. The spaces should be withdrawn.”
Zion National Park
The parcels near Zion National Park are on the eastern side of the park and include a portion of the North Fork of the Virgin River and North Fork Road, which provides access to the Zion Narrows, as well as the Chamberlain Ranch and Orderville Gulch Trailheads. Parcels in this area also include public land bordering State Highway 89, which Visit Utah markets as Utah Heritage Highway and the Mount Carmel Scenic Byway.
“These attempts to hand over our public lands and wild spaces to corporate polluters are tone deaf to the voice of the people. We said no during the budget reconciliation process and that no still stands,” said Franque Bains, Director of Utah Sierra Club. “Our National Parks and public lands protect and conserve the land, air, and water throughout our state allowing for us to have some of the most beautiful wild spaces in the nation for our communities to recreate in and enjoy. These latest coal leasing announcements show that they’re still not set to listen. We’ll keep fighting to keep our public lands protected and public.”
“Our current government is lovesick for King Coal, and this is the ill-conceived result,” said Aaron Paul, Staff Attorney with the Grand Canyon Trust. “Americans don’t want to visit Utah’s majestic national parks and monuments for a sweeping view of a coal mine.”
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park is threatened by an approximately 2,000-acre parcel directly adjacent to its eastern border and on the way to the stunning Temple of the Sun and Moon monoliths in the remote Cathedral Valley region of the Park. Other parcels are east of the Park in the remote Henry Mountains.
Utah’s Redrock Wilderness
Of the 48,000 acres made available for leasing, approximately 30,700 are wilderness-eligible lands, included within the Utah Wilderness Coalition’s legislation, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.
Additional information and maps
On Monday, Sept. 29, the Department of the Interior announced it was making approximately 13 million acres of Federal mineral estate available for coal leasing. This acreage, determined using GIS data, reflects the areas identified under the authority of OBBBA for potential leasing.
The BLM uses Resource Management Plans (RMPs) to guide land use decisions. Two such RMPs (the Kanab Field Office RMP and the Richfield Field Office RMP, both finalized in 2008 during the George W. Bush Administration) had previously identified many of the parcels (approximately 42,000 acres) included in the Sept. 29 announcement as “unsuitable” for surface coal mining and operations, meaning that the agency would not offer those tracts for leasing. This latest announcement contradicts the previous agency decision.
- Overview Map of coal leasing in Southern Utah (all)
- Map, Kanab Field Office (Zion and Bryce, Grand Staircase-Escalante)
- Map, Kanab Field Office, showing coal “unsuitable” for development in RMP
- Map, Richfield Field Office (Capitol Reef)
- Map, Richfield Field Office, showing coal “unsuitable” for development in RMP
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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.
National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA): Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit sierraclub.org
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is the local nonprofit partner in southern Utah that honors the past and safeguards the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and its connected landscapes and watersheds through science, conservation, and education. Our work supports stewardship projects, research, restoration, experiential learning, and Tribal participation on the land. For more information, visit gsenm.org
The Grand Canyon Trust is a regional non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to safeguard the wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau, while supporting the rights of its Native peoples. For more information, visit grandcanyontrust.org
