Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is rushing forward on travel management plans for two very different but spectacular areas: Trail Canyon, east of Zion National Park, and Dinosaur North, near Dinosaur National Monument. These travel plans will determine where off-road vehicles (ORVs) are allowed to travel in these areas for decades to come.

These wild landscapes highlight the beauty and diversity of public lands in Utah, from redrock canyons and forested plateaus in Trail Canyon to high plateaus that offer dramatic panoramic views of the Green River in Dinosaur North. Both areas are home to irreplaceable cultural sites and historic resources, spectacular recreation opportunities, and important habitat for elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and other species. 

Trail Canyon includes places like Moquith Mountain, Orderville Canyon, and the east and north forks of the Virgin River. Dinosaur North encompasses the John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area, Browns Park, and the B and C sections of the Green River (well known to river runners).

The BLM is currently accepting public comments on the draft travel management plans, each of which analyzes the varying impacts of four different off-road vehicle travel networks. For both travel plans, only Alternative B—modified by additional route closures—would comply with the BLM’s duties to protect natural and cultural resources and balance conflicts between motorized and non-motorized recreationists. In both cases Alternative B would remove redundant and particularly damaging routes while helping preserve wilderness study areas and other wilderness-quality lands.

Unfortunately, with both plans the BLM has signaled that it intends to prioritize ORVs at the expense of natural and cultural resources and to the detriment of hikers, bikers, hunters, paddlers, and other non-motorized recreationists.

The agency is accepting public comments through Wednesday, July 22. As a redrock advocate, it’s critical that you participate and make your voice heard. While the deadline is the same for each plan, they are being analyzed separately. Please click the links below to comment on each plan.

>> Click here to submit comments on Trail Canyon

>> Click here to submit comments on Dinosaur North

Do you know the Trail Canyon or Dinosaur North area especially well? Comments that draw from firsthand knowledge and experiences in these areas are the most effective. If you have a personal affinity for these landscapes and know them well, you may want to submit your comments directly through the BLM comment portal (found using the links above). Have questions? Send an email to our Utah Organizer Mimi Ortega and she’ll be happy to help guide you through the process. 

Thank you!

The post Take Action to Protect Trail Canyon & Dinosaur North appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

SUWA members are invited to our annual Summer Gathering on Thursday, August 27. We couldn’t do this work without your support and look forward to thanking you in person! If you plan to join us, please RSVP below.

Not sure if your membership is current? Email Membership Coordinator Kelly Burnham at membership@suwa.org or call 801-428-3972. Not yet a member? Join today for just $35 and become part of the nationwide movement to Protect Wild Utah!

● Hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic refreshments provided by Brown Brothers Catering
(Vegan and GF options available)
● Remarks by SUWA Executive Director Scott Braden
● A take-home botanical craft for kids and adults alike
● A beautiful garden setting

To help us with the preparations and make sure you’re on the guest list, RSVP here or email Kelly at membership@suwa.org no later than Thursday, August 20. Feel free to call Kelly at 801-428-3972 with any questions.

The post Members Only: Join Us for SUWA’s Summer Gathering on August 27! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting scoping comments on a proposal to sell 44 parcels spanning more than 74,000 acres of public land in Utah for oil and gas development. This sale is an especially bad one for redrock country as it includes a large block of parcels in the northern Dirty Devil region, parcels atop Horse Bench on the West Tavaputs Plateau, parcels scattered throughout the southern Uinta Basin, and several more in the Hatch Point region, just east of Bears Ears National Monument.

The public comment period is open through Thursday, July 16. Please tell the agency to keep oil and gas development out of Utah’s wild places.

The BLM has chosen exceptionally inappropriate places for its lease sale. The Dirty Devil parcels are located only a few miles west of the Horseshoe Canyon unit of Canyonlands National Park, immediately north of the Dirty Devil Wilderness Study Area. This region is expansive, remote, and wild.

The parcels atop Horse Bench on the West Tavaputs Plateau overlook the Desolation Canyon stretch of the Green River. To access the plateau, oil tanker trucks and other vehicles would have to pass through Utah’s famed Nine Mile Canyon—often referred to as “the world’s longest art gallery” due to its more than 10,000 unique cultural, historical, and archaeological resources.

The Hatch Point parcels are located near the mouth of Trough Springs Canyon, south of Moab, and encompass the scenic Kane Springs Canyon. This rugged landscape is home to a diversity of wildlife, including the threatened Mexican spotted owl, and provides expansive views of the nearby Bears Ears region.

In its haste to align itself with the Trump administration’s priorities, the BLM has elevated fossil fuel extraction as a primary use of our public lands, even in the face of worsening climate change. With your help, SUWA will challenge this latest proposal and hold the BLM accountable for its failure to follow the law. 

The post BLM Targets Iconic Redrock Landscapes for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

June 23, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Denver, CO – Today, the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on an appeal brought in August 2023 by the State of Utah, Blue Ribbon Coalition, and others challenging President Biden’s October 2021 use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. The Circuit Court’s decision did three principal things: (1) it reversed the district court’s dismissal of the underlying lawsuits brought by Utah and others, (2) it affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the Blue Ribbon Coalition and other individual plaintiffs, and (3) it remanded the case to the district court to consider whether President Biden’s 2021 orders were lawful. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.  

“Today’s decision confirms a key point that the lower court previously got wrong: federal courts can hear challenges to a president’s use of the Antiquities Act to establish or diminish a national monument,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “We are confident that President Biden’s restoration of the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments – which this appeal sought to undermine – was within his powers under the Antiquities Act. His executive orders establishing the monuments protected irreplaceable cultural, biological and geological resources found nowhere else in the world. For over 100 years, no court has ever overturned a President’s use of this authority, and we fully expect President Biden’s actions will be upheld and these National Monuments will remain protected.”

Additional information: 

In August 2022, the State of Utah, along with Garfield and Kane Counties, filed a lawsuit challenging President Biden’s lawful use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in October 2021. The Blue Ribbon Coalition and several individuals filed a separate lawsuit which also challenged restoration of the monuments. Soon afterward, SUWA and a coalition of conservation organizations intervened in these lawsuits on behalf of the U.S. to defend the monuments; five sovereign Tribal Nations also intervened on behalf of the U.S. to defend Bears Ears National Monument. In August 2023, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit and these appeals followed; SUWA’s statement on the 2023 dismissal can be found here.  

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post SUWA Statement on Tenth Circuit Decision over Long-Running Attack on National Monuments – 6.23.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

June 23, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it was moving forward on three Travel Management Plans in Utah: Trail Canyon (east of Zion National Park), Dinosaur North (near Dinosaur National Monument), and the Dolores River (northeast of Moab). Travel plans guide where motorized recreation is and is not allowed on public land; the agency is accepting public comment on the Trail Canyon and Dinosaur North Plans. Below is a statement from SUWA Senior Attorney Laura Peterson and additional information.  

“After years of dragging its feet, the BLM is suddenly racing ahead to finalize three plans for off-road vehicles (ORVs) – plans we expect will wrongly promote motorized recreation over the interests of all other public land visitors,” said Laura Peterson, Senior Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These three landscapes highlight the beauty and diversity of public lands in Utah, but one thing unites them: none of them should be transformed from quiet, wild places into motorized playgrounds.”

Additional information: 

The Trail Canyon, Dinosaur North, and Dolores Triangle travel plans – totaling approximately 816,000 acres of public lands – are three of 11 travel plans the BLM is completing as part of a court-supervised settlement agreement between the BLM, conservation groups, and ORV groups. Covering more than 6 million acres of BLM-managed lands in eastern and southern Utah, these plans will determine where motorized vehicles will be allowed on some of Utah’s wildest public lands. To date, the BLM has completed five of the 11 plans and is currently working on new plans for some of Utah’s most beloved landscapes. At the behest of the Trump Administration and some motorized recreation groups, the BLM is reconsidering the previously completed Labyrinth Canyon, San Rafael Swell, and San Rafael Desert plans. Read more about SUWA’s litigation to ensure these travel plans follow federal laws to protect public lands and resources. 

The Trail Canyon plan (draft environmental assessment) has a 30-day public comment period running June 22 – July 22;  the BLM is hosting a public meeting on July 9, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Kanab Center (20 N. 100 E., Kanab, UT 84741). The Dinosaur North plan (draft environmental assessment) has a 30-day public comment period running June 22 – July 22. 

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post SUWA Statement on three BLM Travel Management Plans moving forward – 6.23.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

June 22, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a decision approving 10 backcountry airstrips in the BLM’s Canyon Country District, which includes the Moab and Monticello field offices in the heart of Utah’s redrock country. These airstrips, many of which show no signs of recent use and none of which were open to use, are scattered across some of the most remote and ecologically sensitive landscapes in southern Utah—including the Gemini Bridges/Labyrinth Canyon area and the remote backcountry immediately adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark and additional information. Clark and additional information.

“The BLM continues to push motorized use in remote, wilderness-quality landscapes, to the benefit of a handful of private pilots and the detriment of wildlife, native vegetation, and public lands users seeking quiet, backcountry experiences,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “The unwillingness of both BLM and the backcountry pilots to acknowledge the reality of conditions on the ground and remove six of the airstrips from consideration – including those adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument – is unfortunate. We’ll be exploring all options to stop new and intrusive backcountry airplanes in these areas.”

Additional information: 

Based on recent on-the-ground fieldwork, SUWA called on the BLM to reject six of the ten proposed airstrips: Spring Canyon, Big Flat, Castle Creek, Nokai Dome, Piute, and Red Canyon; a map of those six airstrips can be found here. None of these airstrips have ever been officially designated, and despite unauthorized past use, many of these locations will require extensive clearing and ground disturbance as they have begun reclaiming and are not functional for takeoff or landing. Reopening them would require removal of mature native plants like blackbrush and junipers, fragmenting habitat and degrading wilderness characteristics. Several locations are within BLM-identified wilderness-quality lands or directly adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument, where aircraft noise and visual intrusions would diminish the solitude, natural soundscapes, and cultural landscapes these areas were meant to protect. 

The Spring Canyon and Big Flat airstrips lie within crucial bighorn habitat along the Green River corridor and near Canyonlands National Park—the same landscape where the BLM already restricts other recreation activities to protect these important species during lambing season. Similarly, raptors nesting near Big Flat, Nokai Dome, and other sites are highly sensitive to aviation noise, which discourages use of otherwise suitable nesting habitat. 

 SUWA’s members submitted over 2,500 comments in opposition to the decision. This decision comes on the heels of BLM approving the Keg Knoll airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness on June 12, 2026.  

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post SUWA Statement on Approval of 10 new Backcountry Airstrips in Southern Utah’s Redrock Country – 6.22.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Good News: CRA Attack Fails, Grand Staircase-Escalante Protections Remain in Place!

As you’ve likely heard by now, the fast-track attempt by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan has failed! This is a major victory for the entire Protect Wild Utah movement, public lands advocates across the country, and most importantly, the landscape itself.

Back in March, Sen. Lee and Rep. Maloy introduced “joint resolutions” to disapprove the monument management plan. They did this using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a little-known law with a provision that allows Congress to pass a CRA joint resolution by simple majority votes. But there’s a catch: the Senate must act within 60 session days or the resolution is subject to the 60-vote filibuster and regular legislative process. Lee missed that critical deadline on June 11, which effectively kills the resolution’s chance of passing in that chamber.

By raising your voice in opposition to Lee and Maloy, you made a difference! Thank you for standing with Grand Staircase-Escalante and SUWA at this critical moment. Take time to celebrate the important victory we just achieved together.

>> Learn more on our blog and read recent news coverage in the Salt Lake Tribune, ABC4 Utah, More Than Just Parks, and Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

Photo © Tim Peterson

More Good News: BLM Pulls Back on 500,000-Acre West Desert Vegetation Project

This spring, SUWA, along with our partners at Western Watersheds Project and the Center for Biological Diversity, challenged the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) approval of the Indian Peak Range Watershed Restoration Plan, a sweeping West Desert vegetation project authorizing prescribed fire and mechanical treatments across roughly 560,000 acres of important wildlife habitat near the Indian Peak Range, the Wah Wah Mountains, Hamlin Valley, Pine Valley, and Blue Mountain. The project included heavy-handed mastication and chaining of pinyon-juniper woodlands and sagebrush shrublands.

The agency ignored public recommendations, failed to map where treatments would occur, and offered no real analysis of impacts to wilderness-quality lands, wildlife, and native ecosystems—despite the fact that a nearly identical Hamlin Valley project had already been vacated after our previous appeal and the agency had committed to more thorough analysis on similar projects in the future.

After SUWA filed an appeal of the BLM’s decision in May, the agency moved to vacate its own approval and reconsider the project. This is good news, but the fight isn’t over yet. The BLM says it expects to publish a revised environmental assessment, which means it may try again to advance this large-scale cutting and burning proposal without proper review. We’ll let you know if and when that happens.

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Trump Rolls Back Longstanding Executive Orders that Reined in ORV Use on Public Lands

On a Friday evening in late May, President Trump announced the repeal of two executive orders that govern off-road vehicle (ORV) use on public lands nationwide. He also directed federal land management agencies to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these orders, setting the stage for chaos and confusion across the country.

For roughly 50 years, these orders—issued under Presidents Nixon and Carter—have helped protect streams, wildlife habitat, and opportunities for safe recreation by providing clear and consistent guidance for motorized and nonmotorized users on Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and National Park Service lands. The orders also empowered agencies to act swiftly to close areas to ORVs when they are causing or will cause considerable damage to natural and cultural resources.

Trump’s latest action flips that script by directing agencies to prioritize ORV use over all other activities and at the expense of clean water, wildlife habitat, cultural sites, and the experience of motorized and non-motorized recreationists alike. For now, regulations implementing the two executive orders remain in place, as do existing travel management plans. We expect, however, that the Trump administration will work quickly to weaken if not outright eliminate both the regulations and individual plans.

>> Learn more on SUWA’s blog and read a recent op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican by former national BLM Director and SUWA Board Member Jim Baca.

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Help Us Grow Support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act 

America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA), the foundational legislation of the Protect Wild Utah movement, aims to permanently protect over 8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Utah as federally designated wilderness. Preserving the wild character of this spectacular and world-renowned landscape would keep climate-disrupting fossil fuels in the ground and provide a vital migration corridor for western wildlife species. As the ancestral home of many Native American tribes, the region also contains abundant and significant cultural resources.

The latest members of Congress to sign on as cosponsors of ARRWA include Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR-5), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), and Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-7). If any of these legislators represent you, please thank them for their support.

Gains in cosponsorship don’t happen by accident; they’re the result of persistent outreach to members of Congress from constituents like you! If your representative and/or senators have not signed onto the bill, please ask them to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act today! Want to get more involved? Reach out to one of our regional organizers.

>> Click here to contact your members of Congress now

Photo © Chris Noble

County Rushes to Chip Seal Hole-in-the-Rock Road at Heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante

Last month, Garfield County began chip sealing (effectively paving) the first 10 miles of Hole-in-the-Rock Road within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Surrounded by wilderness-quality lands, this rugged backroad is core to the remote experience that defines the monument, providing access to popular destinations like Spooky and Peek-A-Boo slot canyons, Devil’s Garden, and Coyote Gulch.  

In February, SUWA filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Garfield County and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated federal law when the county began making unauthorized “improvements” to the road. While Garfield County has title to a right-of-way, it does not own the road or the land beneath it (this remains federal public land) and it cannot lawfully take unilateral action to improve the road. Instead, the county is required to consult with the BLM first, and the BLM is required by law to make sure that such activities do not cause unnecessary damage to public lands.

When SUWA learned that the BLM had authorized the county to proceed, we immediately sought a temporary restraining order from the court. When that request was denied, we filed another motion seeking an emergency injunction to pause the county’s work. Unfortunately, the county rushed to complete the paving before the court had a chance to rule on that motion.

Despite all of this, our pending case will continue to proceed in federal court on its merits, and we expect to prevail. But by then the changes to the road and damage to the monument will be done. Paving will lead to more, faster, and louder traffic, changing the remote backcountry experience the monument was created to protect, and that draws visitors from around the world.

Photo © SUWA

Join Canyon Keepers: SUWA’s Monthly Giving Program

Monthly donors have been part of SUWA’s story for years and continue to provide a consistent, year-round base of financial support for our work. This circle of dedicated members is now called “Canyon Keepers.” If you’re already a monthly donor, thank you! If not, we hope you’ll consider joining this program.

Becoming a Canyon Keeper is simple. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and once you do, your gift renews automatically each month. You can increase, decrease, or pause your support at any time.

To welcome you to the Canyon Keepers circle, we’ll send you a limited-edition Canyon Wren canvas bag to show our gratitude.

>> Click here to become a Canyon Keeper today!

Artwork by Riley Lubich

The post June 2026 Redrock Report appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

June 16, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Last Friday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a decision authorizing private airplanes to take off and land in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness by designating the previously 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. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark and additional information.  

“Wilderness is a finite resource and should be managed in a way that protects the reasons it’s designated in the first place—the preservation of natural soundscapes, solitude, wildlife habitat, and non-motorized recreational opportunities,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “Unfortunately, the Trump administration BLM seems unable to say no to activities that are fundamentally incompatible with wilderness, including motorized aircraft use. Degrading the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness so a handful of private pilots can land their planes at one more backcountry airstrip is a disservice to the landscape and public lands users seeking a wilderness experience. We’ll be exploring every possible way to right this decision and protect the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness from the impacts of private aircraft use.”

Additional information: 

The Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness was designated by Congress in 2019, as part of the Dingell Act. 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.   

The BLM Price Field 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. 

SUWA’s members sent over 3,000 comments in opposition to the decision.  

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post SUWA Statement on approval of Keg Knoll airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness – 6.16.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 15, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Deeda Seed, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 803-9892, dseed@biologicaldiversity.org

Salt Lake City, UT – The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management for quietly approving a hydrocarbon highway through Utah’s scenic, culturally and historically significant Gate Canyon in the West Tavaputs Plateau region of eastern Utah.  

“This lawsuit targets the Trump administration’s disgraceful plan to transform a quiet, meandering backcountry road into a highway clogged with speeding oil tankers,” said Deeda Seed, Senior Utah Campaigner at the Center. “Blasting through Gate Canyon’s walls threatens the area’s iconic rock art and will be a disaster for nearby animals, including threatened Mexican spotted owls. We’re prepared to go to court to protect this irreplaceable cultural treasure and the animals that call it home.” 

Gate Canyon feeds into Nine Mile Canyon — a world-renowned archaeological area that contains more than 10,000 unique, irreplaceable cultural, historical and archaeological resources.  The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA)filed a similar 60-day notice in April. Both notices say the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act by not considering the project’s threats to Mexican spotted owls, despite the fact that the BLM identified the cliffs near the proposed blasting areas as potential owl habitat. 

“The BLM knew that prior versions of this same proposal were extremely controversial and faced fierce public headwinds,” said Landon Newell, Staff Attorney with SUWA. “This time around, instead of facing the public, they hid their decision from scrutiny, rushing their analysis and approval, all under the guise of Trump’s “Energy Dominance” agenda.” 

The project, known as the “Wells Draw Road Amendment – Gate Canyon,” was proposed by Duchesne County and approved by the BLM on April 28, 2026. It involves the blasting and destruction of cliff walls and other large rock features in Gate Canyon to straighten and pave a 5.3-mile dirt road that winds through the scenic canyon as it climbs from Nine Mile Canyon to the Badland Cliffs region of the southern Uinta Basin.   

The project is intended to provide an alternative route for transporting oil out of the Uinta Basin. The road would accommodate 70-foot oil tanker trucks traveling between the oil fields and transloading facilities in Carbon County, Utah. It is estimated that once the destruction of Gate Canyon is complete as many as 1,000 vehicles could pass through each day — the equivalent of “[a] tanker truck every 7 minutes,” according to news reports.  

This marks the third attempt by the county to destroy Gate Canyon. In 2015 and 2022, the BLM received similar applications to realign Gate Canyon Road, but those projects were abandoned amid significant public opposition.  The BLM quietly posted the latest iteration of the project in March 2026 without issuing public notice or opening a formal comment period. After learning of the project, conservation groups requested that the BLM allow for public participation in the decision-making process. The agency denied those requests and quickly approved the project in April.  

Nine Mile Canyon is often referred to as “the world’s longest art gallery” because of its extensive collection of rock art and archeological sites. Previous BLM studies describe the area as containing “a significant and high density of historic, cultural, and archeological sites joined together in several overlapping historic landscapes” and saying it “is known to contain the country’s highest concentration of rock art panels, remnants of the prehistoric Archaic, Freemont, and Ute cultures . . . The rock structural remains of Fremont homes, granaries, and ‘forts’ are more visible in Nine Mile Canyon than almost anywhere in the Fremont cultural area.” 

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post Lawsuit Launched to Challenge Oil Highway That Threatens World-Renowned Nine Mile Canyon – 6.15.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Incredible news: the attempt to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan has failed! Together, we have defeated the efforts of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02)! This is a major victory for the entire Protect Wild Utah movement, public lands advocates across the country, and most importantly, the landscape itself.

How did we get here? In March, Sen. Lee and Rep. Maloy introduced “joint resolutions” to disapprove the monument management plan. They did this using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a little-known law with a provision that allows Congress to pass a CRA joint resolution by simple majority votes—but the Senate must act within 60 session days. Thursday, June 11, was Day 60, so Lee’s resolution is now subject to the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster and we are confident it will not pass.

I couldn’t be prouder of SUWA’s national network of activists and our whole-of-organization response to this unprecedented attack. For all of 2026, defeating the Grand Staircase-Escalante CRA resolution has been our #1 priority. SUWA’s remarkable grassroots organizing team led efforts to reach persuadable members of Congress, fanning out across the country and working with members and supporters to hold in-district meetings with congressional staff. We became experts in arcane congressional procedures. We worked with the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition and brought Tribal leaders, alongside grassroots activists and local business owners, to Washington, DC. We coordinated with friends in the conservation and recreation communities. SUWA’s Utah-based staff were frequent visitors to Washington, working day in and day out with our DC Team.

We gave it 110%, week after week, month and month, grinding away while the odds were stacked against us—with the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate, and the White House. This outcome was far from guaranteed; Republicans used the CRA six other times during this Congress to undo land management plans and a seventh time to undo a protective mineral withdrawal at the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But love for Grand Staircase-Escalante was strong and opposition to what Lee and Maloy were trying was widespread and overwhelming, across Utah and nationwide (see this webpage for highlights).

We are also clear-eyed: while we’ve defeated one major attack, both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, as well as the rest of the redrock wilderness, remain under attack from the Trump administration and Congress. But what we’ve said before bears repeating: SUWA has never backed down from a hard fight, and we’re not going to start now.

By raising your voice in opposition to Lee and Maloy you made a difference. We’re going to keep calling on you—your voice and advocacy will continue to be crucial in defending the wild public lands that inspire, heal, and renew us in the best and worst of times. Powered by love and hope, we know that we can still make the critical difference to protect the places and values that matter. Together, we just did! And we’ll continue to do so.

Thank you for standing with Grand Staircase-Escalante and SUWA at this critical moment. Take time to celebrate the important victory we just achieved together. And if you’re able, please consider financially supporting our work.

For Grand Staircase-Escalante,

Scott Braden

SUWA Executive Director
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

The post Breaking News: Mike Lee Fails, Grand Staircase-Escalante Protections Remain in Place! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 12, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society; (303) 386-2243; kgilliland@tws.org 
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, (202) 792-6211, pwheeler@earthjustice.org 
Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director, Grand Canyon Trust; (801) 550-9861; tpeterson@grandcanyontrust.org 
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421; ascibetta@nrdc.org
Kris Deutschman, Conservation Lands Foundation, 505-498-0212; kris@conservationlands.org
Brian Willis, Sierra Club; 202-253-7486; brian.willis@sierraclub.org
Caitlyn Burford, Senior Communications Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, cburford@npca.org, 541-371-6452
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org

Washington, DC – Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) effort to fast-track an attack on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) has failed. The CRA includes a provision that allows the Senate to pass a “joint resolution of disapproval” targeting an administrative action via a simple majority, but it must act within 60 Senate session days after that action is entered into the Congressional Record. Thursday, June 11, was day 60, meaning Senator Lee’s resolution is now subject to the 60-vote filibuster should he attempt to bring it up for consideration. This setback of Senator Lee’s attack on the monument comes the same week as the anniversary of the Antiquities Act, which was used to protect the 1.9-million-acre landscape.

The elected officials leading the effort to attack the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan, Senator Mike Lee and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), were some of the same members behind the 2025 failed public lands sell-off attempts. Then, as now, their ideas are deeply unpopular and have been fiercely opposed. If the CRA resolution were to pass, the management plan – which sets expectations for how these remarkable public lands will be managed for recreation, camping and outdoor access; collaboration with Tribal Nations; dark night skies; grazing and other uses – would be undone, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. This assault on a national monument marked a significant escalation in Congress’ use of the CRA and – if it had been successful – would have led to chaos on the ground. 

“Senator Mike Lee’s misguided attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has failed. This is a major victory for the millions of Americans who care deeply about the Grand Staircase and for everyone who supports our nation’s wildest public lands and want to see them protected,” said Scott Braden, Executive Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “While together we’ve defeated one major attack, both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, as well as the rest of the redrock wilderness in Utah, remain under attack from the Trump Administration and this Republican Congress. The lesson for politicians is clear: Americans cherish their public lands and want to see them conserved for current and future generations to enjoy, not attacked and exploited.”

“Just like the defeat of Senator Lee’s unpopular public land sell-off attempt last year, the dearth of support for this attack on Grand Staircase – Escalante reflects Americans’ fierce love for our public lands,” said Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “No one except extractive industry CEOs wants these special places destroyed. Senator Lee and Representative Maloy should take note.”

“The Utah delegation knows that our national monuments are well-loved by Americans and protecting them is overwhelmingly popular among Utahns regardless of party affiliation,” said Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director at the Grand Canyon Trust. “The public would not have stood for legislation that gets rid of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument outright, so the Utah delegation tried to eliminate the commonsense management plan that affords day-to-day protections to the monument. We’re so grateful that didn’t happen.”

“Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Celeste Maloy’s failed attempt to overturn the Grand Staircase- Escalante land-use plan was out of step with what Americans want,” said Axie Navas, director of designation campaigns at The Wilderness Society. “The current plan, built on years of engagement with Tribes and local communities, balances the freedom to recreate with traditional uses and conservation in a way that benefits all. The public has made it clear they want these lands protected—and managed—so that future generations may experience Grand Staircase-Escalante as we do today.”    

“Grand Staircase-Escalante’s protections are still standing today because people would not let them fall,” said Bobby McEnaney, Director of Land Conservation, NRDC. “This was never really about land management. It was an attempt to make it easier to dismantle every national monument in the country, and that threat has not gone anywhere. Tribes, local communities, and voters saw this attack for what it was and spoke up. We owe it to them, and to the generations who will inherit these lands, to stay in this fight for as long as it takes.”

“While this is a welcome pause, we have no reason to believe Sen. Lee will stop his attack on the country’s national monuments and Grand Staircase,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “Tens of thousands of people registered their opposition to this particular Congressional power grab–as hundreds of thousands have done over the past several years in support of conserving the country’s public lands. Local communities, business owners, and Tribes support and rely on the balanced management of national monuments and the overwhelming majority of voters in Utah and across western states want their Congress members to protect these places, not sell them off. We are here to make sure that Sen. Lee and other anti-public lands members of Congress cannot ignore the fact that Americans of all political identities don’t want what they’re selling and are fighting like hell to stop it.”

“Today, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument management plan will remain intact, and that’s a testament to the chorus of voices that showed up to protect this incredible landscape from attacks in Congress,” said Cory MacNulty, Southwest Campaign Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “This management plan is more than a policy document. It reflects years of engagement with communities, Tribes and stakeholders to shape how the monument would be cared for. We know this monument, and all monuments across the nation, still face threats from Congress and the administration. But this is a reminder that public lands should reflect all of us, and people on both sides of the political aisle will continue to show up to protect them.”

“This outcome is bigger than one monument,” said Athan Manuel, Director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. “Had this effort succeeded, it would have created a dangerous roadmap for dismantling management plans and undermining protections for public lands across the country. Instead, the broad coalition that came together to defend Grand Staircase-Escalante proved once again that Americans will unite to protect the places that belong to all of us. This failed fast-track attack should serve as a warning to anyone looking to weaken our public lands: people are paying attention, and they are prepared to fight back.”

“Veterans and military families understand what it means to protect something that belongs to all Americans. The failure of Senator Mike Lee’s attempt to fast-track an attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is an important victory for those who believe our public lands should remain public. Places like Grand Staircase-Escalante are part of our shared national heritage and serve as places where veterans heal, reconnect with their families, recreate, and continue serving their communities. While we are encouraged to see this effort fall short, the broader threats facing Grand Staircase-Escalante, Bears Ears, and other treasured public lands remain very real. Veterans will continue standing up for these places because they are worth protecting for future generations, just as they were for ours.” — Janessa Goldbeck, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and CEO, Vet Voice Foundation

“Lee’s attempt to weaponize the Congressional Review Act to strip protections from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was an affront to all Americans and I’m thrilled he failed,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “Like Grand Canyon and Zion, this iconic landscape and its extraordinary animals deserve permanent protection, not to be used as political pawns.” 

A compilation of opposition to the use of the CRA on Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument Management Plan can be found here; some highlights include:

• Inter-tribal Coalition members call for stop to proposal to use Congressional Review Act (CRA) to harm Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
  
• The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) issued a statement and the Navajo Utah Commission of the Navajo Nation Council issued a resolution opposing the use of the CRA resolution.

• Over 40 local businesses in gateway communities like Boulder, Escalante, Tropic, Cannonville, Kanab, and Page (AZ) support the Monument. Local business owners respond in this video montage after Rep. Maloy claimed the 2025 Management plan is bad for business.

• Faith Leaders across Utah and the American West oppose the use of the CRA, as do over 125 local, state, and national groups, and over 150 scientists.
  
• The Salt Lake Tribune, the Grand Junction Sentinel, the Durango Herald, the Las Vegas Sun, the Arizona Daily Star, and the Idaho Statesman have editorialized against the CRA and in support of the Monument. Letters to the editor have gone into papers across the country; particular powerful op-eds include “The strike on Grand Staircase is a strike on my culture and my history” by Autumn Gillard; “Stop Trying to Utah our Nevada” by Dackota York; “GOP leaders say local interests were ignored in the Grand Staircase-Escalante planning process. That’s not what I saw” by Erik Stanfield; “A Utah Monument Comes Under Attack – Again” by Stephen Trimble; and “Congress in gunning for a National Monument in Utah” by Scott Braden. 

About Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument & the Monument Management Plan

Since its establishment, heightened protections for the Monument’s 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. Nearly 30 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 geological history on the Colorado Plateau. 

On December 4, 2017, President Trump ignored millions of public comments and unlawfully 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 developing a new management plan for the full Monument. As a part of that work, the BLM engaged in extensive outreach to Tribal Nations, the State of Utah, local governments, stakeholders (including local outfitters, guides, ranchers, and utilities), and the public. During the planning process, BLM received overwhelming support from throughout Utah and the nation for a holistic, conservation-based 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 and others challenging President Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments. The state and other plaintiffs quickly appealed that decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held oral argument on September 26, 2024, and may issue a decision at any time. Conservation organizations intervened on behalf of the United States to defend President Biden’s restoration of the Monuments, as have four Tribal nations.

National monuments are overwhelmingly popular.Seventy-five percent of Utah voters support the President’s ability to protect public lands as national monuments. Three in four Utah voters, including a majority of Republicans, want to keep Grand Staircase-Escalante as a national monument.

About the Congressional Review Act (CRA)

The CRA is a federal statute enacted in March 1996 that requires federal agencies to submit “rules” to Congress for a mandatory review period “before they may take effect.” If Congress votes to overturn, or “disapprove,” the rule, it “may not be reissued in substantially the same form. . . .” The BLM has long maintained that its land management plans are not “rules” subject to the CRA. Other federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, have similarly not submitted their land management plans to Congress under the CRA.

However, emboldened by a series of non-binding Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinions, Republican members of Congress have embraced the novel theory that federal land management plans are in fact “rules” subject to the CRA. This year, Congress has passed seven CRA resolutions overturning previously finalized land management plans or other types of public lands management decisions.  The GAO issued an opinion regarding the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument Management Plan on January 15, 2026.

• While overturning the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument management plan would not change the boundaries of the monument or alter President Biden’s proclamation establishing the monument, it is a serious threat with potential implications for all national monuments. 
• Monument management plans set expectations for how the land will be managed for wildlife, outdoor access, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses. The Utah delegation’s gambit threatens that certainty. Using the CRA to overturn the Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan disregards years of public input on how these lands are managed for the public, including hunters, hikers, scientists, ranchers, and others who hold permits to use public lands inside the monument.
• Congress is ignoring Tribal Nations. Multiple Native American Tribes are connected to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition advocates for the conservation of their ancestral lands and for the continued protection and preservation of the cultural and environmental resources found within the monument. Tribes provide deeply valuable perspectives related to the management of Monument lands and cultural resources that tell the story of their peoples, and are integral to the history of the United States, and should be consulted before any changes are made to the Monument’s management plan.

Additional Information

• March 4, 2026 Press Release – Senator Lee, Rep. Maloy Introduce Joint Resolution to Undo Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan 
• February 26, 2026 Press Release – Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah 
• The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition who have spoken against using the CRA on the Monument Management Plan

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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.

The post Senator Lee’s Attempt to Fast-track Attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan Fails appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.