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❗TAKE ACTION NOW❗(link in bio) The Bureau of ❗TAKE ACTION NOW❗(link in bio)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving forward with plans to sell 46 oil and gas leases encompassing over 68,200 acres in Utah. The majority of these public lands provide important habitat for greater sage-grouse (an imperiled bird) and/or Graham's beardtongue (a flowering plant unique to the area).

Several of the lease parcels are within the Lower Bitter Creek and/or Sunday School Canyon areas—largely unspoiled natural regions in the southern Uinta Basin which contain lands identified as wilderness-caliber. These high desert areas combine to form a sizable oasis amid the oil and gas development that dominates other parts of the Basin, providing valuable wildlife habitat, outstanding views of the surrounding landscape, and excellent opportunities for hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing.

Please take a moment to tell the BLM that these areas are too special to open to oil and gas development! The agency is accepting public comments through Friday, August 8th. #protectwildutah
Today, Utah’s Third District Court dismissed a l Today, Utah’s Third District Court dismissed a lawsuit, SUWA v. Cox, filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) in December 2024. During a recent court hearing over the lawsuit, the State of Utah conceded that the taxpayer-funded “Stand for our Land” Litigation and public relations campaign, which implies that federal public lands would be turned over to the state of Utah for management, is blatantly misleading. See statement below from from SUWA Legal Director, Stephen Bloch. 

For more information, read our full press release (link in bio).

Photo credit: Rick Kramer
In June, Utah Senator Mike Lee launched the latest In June, Utah Senator Mike Lee launched the latest in a long line of attacks by Utah politicians on America’s public lands. This time the proposal was for a massive public lands sell-off through the complicated congressional budget process known as Budget Reconciliation. While Lee’s goal of upending the very concept of public lands is the same as it ever was, his latest scheme employs new tactics: land sell-offs cloaked in the guise of promoting affordable housing.

Over the past fifteen years in Utah, we have seen numerous attempts to undermine the foundation of our uniquely American public land system. In 2012, the Utah legislature demanded that the United States hand over 31.2 million acres of federal land to the state by 2014. While this was accompanied by plenty of sabre rattling, 2014 came and went and the federal government unsurprisingly did not comply with Utah’s baseless demands.

In 2017, former Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced a bill to sell off millions of acres of public lands across the West. Just two weeks later, after widespread public outcry and backlash from Americans across the political spectrum, Rep. Chaffetz reversed course and “withdrew” the bill, begrudgingly acknowledging the unpopularity of his legislation. He resigned from Congress four months later, just six months into his term.

In 2024, Utah filed a lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court to try to force the federal government to sell off or “dispose of” 18.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-managed lands within the state. The Supreme Court declined to take the case, and while Utah has yet to re-file its lawsuit in federal district court, Governor Spencer Cox has said that the state intends to do so.

Read the full article by SUWA Staff Attorney, Laura Peterson, by visiting the link in our bio. To receive our newsletter direct to your doorstep three times a year, become a #protectwildutah member today!

Photo Credit Slide 1: Nathan St. Andre
Yesterday, more than 65 organizations urged House Yesterday, more than 65 organizations urged House Leadership to protect Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from House members who are attempting to use the appropriations process to open the monument to development and destruction. The letter calls on leadership to remove language from the House Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for the monument, unless it is managed pursuant to an outdated management plan from the first Trump administration. 

Specifically, Section 137 (pg. 75) of the House 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill would require the Department of the Interior to manage Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument “in compliance with the Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plans…dated February 2020.” If passed, this language effectively implements Trump’s 2017 illegal shrinking of the Monument, and sets a dangerous precedent for not only Grand Staircase-Escalante, but all of our nation’s National Monuments. 

Additional information can be found here: https://suwa.org/organizations-urge-house-leadership-to-protect-grand-staircase-escalante-and-stop-attacks-on-national-monuments-7-22-25/
More info on Monday's hearing. Read more: www.p More info on Monday's hearing. 

Read more: 
www.publicdomain.media/p/utah-public-lands-pr-campaign

#protectwildutah #publicland
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Main Office

425 East 100 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 486-3161

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122 C Street, NW Suite 650
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 546-2215

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P.O. Box 968
Moab, UT 84532

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Our popular “Protect Wild Utah” yard signs (in both English and Spanish) are available for pickup at SUWA’s Salt Lake City office and at many of our local events. To arrange an office pickup time (between 9-5, M-F), please call (801) 486-3161 or email us at info@suwa.org.

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