Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

November 10, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced a proposed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rulemaking that would drastically weaken the public’s involvement in land use planning and gut protections for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), one of BLM’s primary conservation designations, across 245 million acres of Western public lands. The rule proposes to stifle the voices of local communities by significantly shortening public comment periods and cutting out robust environmental analysis. These changes would make it easier for the BLM to fast-track the sale, transfer, or use of public lands for oil and gas drilling, mining, data centers, and other industrial or commercial development, all while shutting out the American people. The announcement kicks off a 60 day comment period (January 9th deadline). 

The public lands overseen by the BLM contain crucial wildlife corridors, critical habitat, cultural resources and landscapes, watersheds, historic sites, and access to nature and scenery.  The rule threatens to strip vital safeguards for ACECs and environmental review that protect these values, leaving the West’s most sensitive lands vulnerable to irreparable harm.

The new rule will (Brief Analysis):

• Attempt to eliminate mandatory Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for land use plans;
• Eliminate the 90-day public comment period;
• Allow BLM to eliminate written comment opportunities in favor of public meetings;
• Eliminate key planning and analysis requirements;
• Bypass normal planning procedures by creating new emergency authority and making broad programmatic amendments potentially easier;
• Weaken area of critical environmental concern (ACEC) designation and protection procedures
• Reduce state, local, and Tribal government participation.

This aggressive regulatory rollback is the latest chapter in a coordinated, systematic dismantling of America’s public lands. It directly connects to a broader pattern of hostility toward balanced stewardship, which includes the recent rescission of the landmark Public Lands Rule, stated intention to roll back the Roadless Rule and Wilderness policies, the evisceration of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) standards, and repeated attempts to give away public lands to corporations and developers. This rulemaking contributes to this administration’s singular focus: fast-tracking industrial exploitation and drilling at the expense of our shared heritage, tribal sovereignty and the outdoor recreation economies that sustain rural Western communities.

The proposal comes as Congress debates permitting legislation that would also weaken public participation in decisions affecting shared lands and give more power to development interests. Planning serves as the foundational blueprints governing public lands for decades; eroding these processes is a profound threat to the long-term health of the West. Making robust environmental review optional and weakening ACEC standards intentionally ties the agency’s hands, preventing it from effectively responding to the compounding threats of climate change, drought, and habitat fragmentation. This action rejects the unmistakable demand from the American public, including local leaders, Tribal representatives, and local elected officials, who have consistently called for public lands to be managed transparently and protected for future generations.

Quotes

“The Trump administration is attempting to undermine conservation, remove the public from public lands, and make it easier to turn these lands over to extractive industries,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “Minimizing public engagement and comprehensive environmental analysis does nothing to streamline public land management and is only intended to prioritize private profit at the expense of ecosystem health and public land users.”   

“Gutting transparency, review, and public engagement requirements within the West’s most ecologically sensitive wildlife corridors, watersheds, and cultural resources are the actions of cowards trying to fast-track industrial development at any and all social costs,” said Kara Matsumoto, senior policy director at the Conservation Lands Foundation. “Resource management plans are the blueprints for keeping public lands and waters healthy, and weakening them will weaken local economies and fragile ecosystems. We’ll continue to fight this corporate greed because the overwhelming majority of Americans want more nature protected, not less.”

“The opportunity to review and comment on land management actions keeps the public in public lands.” said Hilary Eisen, federal policy director at Wild Montana. “Resource management plans provide the long-term framework for how vast swaths of public land across the West are managed and it is essential that these plans be crafted with robust public engagement. This proposed rule sidelines the public, as well as local, state, and tribal governments, in BLM land use planning.”

“Resource management planning is meant to provide the public a real say in how BLM manages our shared public lands, and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern are how the agency turns that input into on-the-ground protections for special places and important wildlife habitat,” said Maddy Munson, senior policy and planning specialist at Defenders of Wildlife. “Cutting back public participation and narrowing the agency’s analysis isn’t streamlining, but rather stacking the deck against the places and species that need protection the most.”  

“For Nevadans public land is our way of life. Whether we have jobs dependent on mining, grazing, the outdoor industry or just love taking our families camping, these public lands in Nevada are a huge part of who we are. We want to have an active role in determining how these lands are managed and efforts to take the public out of this planning process and weaken protections are just wrong,” said Shaaron Netherton, Executive Director at Friends of Nevada WIlderness. “We need to stand up and keep the public in our public lands.” 

“The Trump Administration is once again plotting to undermine our world-renowned system of shared lands and the public processes that guide their management,” said Jackie Feinberg, Sierra Club’s National Lands Conservation Manager. “Weakening protections and public participation would fast-track the industrialization and privatization of places essential for wildlife, clean water, cultural and historic preservation, and access to nature. We stand firmly against these attempts to cut out the “public” from public lands for the benefit of corporate polluters and profiteers.” 

“The Trump administration continues to eliminate tools that the Bureau of Land Management has relied on for decades for conserving wildlife habitat, protecting clean water, and working with local communities. The objective is clear: replace the multiple uses and values of our public lands with the singular use of fossil fuel development. That agenda has no footing in Colorado, where 96% percent of Coloradans support conserving public lands and open space and 81% believe oil and gas development is not an acceptable use of public lands,” said Juli Slivka, Senior Director of Policy and Programs at Wilderness Workshop.

“These are the plans that decide whether a valley gets drilled or a trout stream gets protected, and this proposal is built to make those decisions faster and with fewer people in the room,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Lands Analyst at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Cutting the public’s time to weigh in by two thirds, scrapping the full environmental review, and letting a political appointee invoke an emergency to skip the rest is not modernization. It is a way to lock in drilling and mining decisions before anyone can object. Governors get 30 days and no appeal, Tribal plans drop out of the review entirely, and the agency gives itself the power to shrink or erase existing protected areas. Interior should withdraw this proposal and keep the public’s seat at the table.”

“These lands are called “public lands” for a reason: They are owned by the people of the United States. The Bureau of Land Management’s job is to manage them in the public’s interest, for the common good. By so severely restricting opportunities for the public—including, importantly, Tribal Nations—to be involved in planning for their management, the BLM is depriving all of us of our rights as the owners,” said Michael Painter, Coordinator, Californians for Western Wilderness.

“The Trump administration continues its relentless agenda of handing over public lands to corporations,” said Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “Cutting the public out of land management benefits no one except the extractive industries hellbent on controlling these shared resources for their own private gain. Anyone who values public lands must be loud and clear: these attacks end now.”

“Public lands belong to all Americans, and decisions about their future should be made through transparent processes informed by science, meaningful public participation and consultation with Tribes and others in the community. This proposed rule would give us less of a say in the management of 245 million acres of our shared lands and weaken areas of critical environmental concern, the BLM’s primary tool for protecting important natural and cultural sites. It is another clear attempt to give drilling, mining and other development interests more influence over our public lands, in the same spirit as rescission of the BLM Public Lands Rule—and only days after voters delivered a stinging rebuke to this administration’s agenda of doing favors for oil and gas companies and other powerful corporations. Our public lands deserve better, and so do future generations that will inherit them.” said Michael Carroll, BLM Campaign Director, The Wilderness Society.

“In New Mexico, the BLM planning process gives communities, Pueblos, Tribes, acequias, recreationalists, conservation organizations, ranchers, hunters and anglers a real say in what happens to the 13.5 million acres of public land that the agency manages here,” said Sally Paez, senior staff attorney for New Mexico Wild. “Places like the Greater Chaco landscape, the Permian Basin’s remaining wildlife habitat, and our desert grasslands have protections today because New Mexicans showed up and spoke out during planning. New Mexicans shouldn’t be shut out of decisions about their own public lands.” 

“In Oregon, the BLM manages 2.6 million acres of Oregon and California Lands that are home to imperiled wildlife, endemic botanical resources, wild rivers, and climate change-mitigating ancient forests that provide outstanding recreational opportunities and socioeconomic benefits to Oregonians and all Americans,” said Susan Jane Brown, attorney with Silvix Resources. “The public and other stakeholders must have a central role in the science-informed stewardship of these cherished resources, all of which will be placed at risk of existential loss with BLM’s proposed rulemaking.”

“Oregon’s high desert community has modeled a long, successful history of federal planners, tribal interests, ranchers, hunters and anglers, recreationists, and conservationists working together to craft management strategies that balance land use and promote conservation across 12 million acres of our shared public lands,” said Mark Salvo, Senior Conservation Advisor for Oregon Natural Desert Association. “Now the Trump administration is recklessly dismissing these decades of collaboration and compromise, trampling public processes, and sidelining those who have worked to protect these lands and resources for future generations–all to advance a narrow agenda of exploitation at the expense of the public interest.”

“The public lands are the people’s lands and the American people have spoken loud and clear. The Bureau’s proposal to cut public participation, reduce protections for cultural sites and critically important habitat, and shortcut environmental analysis is just one more indication that the Trump Administration isn’t listening and will do anything to silence the public, Tribes, and scientists and ignore the reality of what’s happening on the ground,” said Josh Osher, public policy director for Western Watersheds Project. “Millions of acres of climate-stressed Bureau-managed lands are already being degraded by extractive industries, and we need planning rules that include thorough and honest science-based assessments and as many voices as possible to help improve ecological conditions and resilience.”  

This is just the latest attempt from the Trump Administration to dismantle our public lands piece by piece,” said Sandra Schubert, Executive Director of Tuleyome. “The proposed Planning Rule undermines protections that ensure that our public lands and wild forests remain accessible and are used sustainably. Resource management plans are built on science and centuries of management experience. They give local land managers and communities the ability to maintain healthy ecosystems while supporting the diverse ways communities depend on public lands. Undermining planning undermines our public lands”

“Once again, Doug Burgum is doing everything in his power to cut the public out of public lands,” said Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities. “This new rule gives political appointees in DC more power to shrink protected places and ignore local voices. Public lands belong to all of us, and good land use planning means giving everyone the chance to weigh in.”

“America’s national parks are supported by the public lands that surround them, and this proposal is another blatant attempt to unravel decades of conservation progress that the public overwhelmingly supports,” said Beau Kiklis, associate director of energy and landscape conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association. “Roughly 80 national park sites share a border with BLM lands, and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern have helped protect Dinosaur National Monument from impacts of oil and gas development, support Joshua Tree’s wildlife by protecting the neighboring Pinto Mountains, and protect ancestral sites near Hovenweep among countless others. This is another attempt to sell off and sell out our public lands, and the public deserves a real say before more is lost.”  

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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 Trump Administration Continues Systematic Dismantling of Public Lands – 11.10.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

November 9, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – Today, the US Senate voted 73-25 on a motion to proceed that would expedite passage of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA), which is being championed by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Below is a statement from SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill and additional information on the bill’s potential impact on public lands in Southern Utah. 

“Southern Utah’s wild places and cultural sites have remained intact in no small part because of bedrock environmental and historic preservation laws. This bill imperils those hard-won protections and places industry in the driver’s seat,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “If you care about keeping public participation a core component of public lands decisions, the federal government being forced to think before it acts, Tribal sovereignty, or clean air and water, you should be opposed to this bill and we encourage you to reach out your Senators, immediately.”  

Additional information: 

Here’s just a few ways the bill would impact Southern Utah’s wildest public lands: 

• It will lock in harmful development projects on public lands, preventing future administrations from taking any action on these permitted projects even if those projects were approved illegally. This includes permits for data centers, oil and gas drilling approvals, and hard rock mining authorizations. In Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, this bill could preclude future administrations from taking corrective action on the more than 110 mining claims filed on lands within the original boundaries of the monuments that President Trump unlawfully cut by nearly 90%. The bill will also make it extremely difficult for the public to challenge development of those mining claims, permanently greenlighting endless development and harm for these iconic landscapes.  

• It will undermine Tribal sovereignty while threatening sacred and irreplaceable cultural sites. Southern Utah holds tens of thousands of cultural sites reflecting thousands of years of human history. The bill effectively rewrites provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act to diminish or preclude protection of important cultural sites, make consultation with Tribes and communities optional and withdraw effective court remedies to prevent irreparable damage to cultural sites. 

• It will fast-track the already rapid acceleration of data center proposals on public lands. In Utah and across the country, communities are demanding greater transparency and input as data centers are rapidly built. Proposals like Project Beehive in Carbon County have many unanswered questions about their legality and potential impacts, but would be expedited if the bill passed.   

• Decreases transparency in decision making by narrowing the projects subject to environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and limiting the public’s ability to review and comment on projects that impact public lands. 

Analysis and materials by other organizations and recent media: 

• More Than Just Parks: Why Martin Heinrich Sold Out Public Lands. Nov. 5, 2026 

• High Country News: New bill slashes tribes’ role in projects that impact ancestral sites, water and wildlife. Nov. 5, 2026 

• Center for Western Priorities: BAAJA would lock in destruction at Bears Ears and beyond.  

• 6 threats to public lands in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, The Wilderness Society, Oct. 15, 2026 

• John Podesta Says Permitting Deal Hands Trump ‘a Loaded Howitzer, Heatmap, Oct. 27 2026 

• Podesta warns of ‘loaded howitzer’ in permitting bill, Politico, Oct. 27, 2026 

• Senate Permitting Reform Bill: If It Passes, Will It Work?, Center on Global Energy Policy, Oct. 27, 2026 

• NRDC Assessment of BAAJA, the 2026 Permitting and Transmission Bill, Oct. 27, 2026 

• The Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened to Public Lands Could Be a New Bill You’ve Never heard Of, Wes Siler. Oct. 28, 2026. 

• ‘Permitting Reform’ Is a Giveaway to Data Centers and Fossil Fuels, Common Dreams, Oct. 26, 2026 

• A ‘Bipartisan’ Bill to Dismantle the Nation’s Bedrock Environmental Law, The Revelator, Oct. 23 2026 

• Center for Western Priorities: The Senate permitting bill would lock in data centers and nuclear waste on public lands. It only gets worse from there. Oct. 21, 2026. 

• More Than Just Parks: Senate Permitting Bill Is a Betrayal of Our Public Lands. Oct. 16, 2026 

• Native American Rights Fund statement: “(BAAJA) has significant impacts on the ability of Tribal Nations to participate meaningfully in permitting issues that can effect their land, water, and cultural interests.” Oct. 15, 2026 

• The National Congress of American Indians and 8 other tribal letter to Congress, arguing BAAJA undermines Tribal sovereignty and threatens sacred sites, Oct. 9, 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 Initial Senate Vote on Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 – 11.9.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Before the new, Democratically-controlled Congress arrives in January, Senate negotiators, led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), are pushing forward permitting reform legislation that poses one of the most significant threats to America’s public lands, cultural heritage, Tribal sovereignty, and environmental protections in decades. The deceptively-named Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) would weaken bedrock environmental laws, limit public participation, fast-track development projects, and make it far more difficult to challenge harmful decisions affecting public lands.

Please contact your senators and urge them to oppose BAAJA today! A vote could happen as soon as Monday, Nov. 9.

This legislation goes far beyond streamlining federal permit processes. It includes a wish list of priorities for anti-public lands politicians like Senator Lee while undermining safeguards that protect some of America’s most treasured landscapes and cultural resources.

Here are just a few ways the bill would impact Southern Utah’s wildest public lands:

• It will lock in harmful development projects on public lands, preventing future administrations from taking any action on these permitted projects even if the projects were approved illegally. This includes permits for data centers, oil and gas drilling approvals, and hard rock mining authorizations.
  
  
• In Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, this bill could preclude future administrations from taking corrective action on the more than 110 mining claims filed on lands within the original boundaries of the monuments that President Trump unlawfully cut by nearly 90%.
  
  
• It will undermine Tribal sovereignty while threatening sacred and irreplaceable cultural sites. Southern Utah holds tens of thousands of cultural sites reflecting thousands of years of human history. The bill effectively rewrites provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act to restrict what is considered an important cultural site, make consultation with Tribes and communities optional, and require fewer environmental impacts to be taken into consideration.
  
  
• It will fast-track the already rapid acceleration of data center proposals on public lands. In Utah and across the country, communities are demanding greater transparency and input as data centers are rapidly built. Proposals like Project Beehive in Carbon County have many unanswered questions about their legality and potential impacts but would be expedited if the bill passed.

Please take a few minutes to tell your senators to oppose this legislation and to work towards better protections for public lands and wild places.

The post Tell Your Senators to Oppose the Permitting Reform Bill! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Last night the trajectory changed for the redrock wilderness. For the past two years we’ve been fighting for Utah’s wild places on three fronts: against a Republican-controlled Congress, against the president and his administration, and against the anti-public-lands state of Utah. Last night, when Democrats decisively took control of both the House and Senate, a new political reality emerged: one where wilderness and public lands will have champions in Congress with the power to deflect attacks from the administration.

We’re clear-eyed that the Trump administration’s corrupt attacks on public lands will continue—and perhaps even ramp up—during his lame duck presidency. Here in Utah, Republicans have an irrational antipathy to public lands and continue to hold statewide office and dominate the state legislature (though it seems their supermajority may soon be a thing of the past). We have plenty of work ahead, starting with defeating the permitting reform bill that the U.S. Senate may take up as soon as Monday.

But today also ushers in a new era. For the first time since 1989 and Rep. Wayne Owens, Utah will have a member of the House of Representatives—Ben McAdams in Congressional District 1—who has committed to champion America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. After decades of having to build power outside the state of Utah to protect public lands in Utah, the tide is turning. We’ll be organizing in the Beehive State and across the country. When the 120th Congress convenes in January, we will have unprecedented opportunities and we’ll be working together to make the most of each and every one.

The work ahead is hard. It will take many more hard years to restore Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, to pass the Red Rock bill, and to protect Utah’s wild places. But SUWA is in it for the long haul, and we know that people like you—at the heart of the Protect Wild Utah movement across the country—are too.

Thank you for casting your vote. Thank you for entrusting us to do this work and for financially supporting us if you’re able. We’re deeply grateful. What we said after the 2024 election still rings true: We can protect the places and values that matter. Together, we will.

For the redrock,

Scott Braden

Executive Director
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

The post A New Day for the Redrock appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

November 3, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) have introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA); a vote on the floor of the Senate to expedite the bill towards a final Senate vote could occur as soon as Monday, November 9. Below is a statement from SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill and additional information on the bill’s potential impact on public lands in Southern Utah. 

“Southern Utah’s wild places and cultural sites have remained intact in no small part because of bedrock environmental and historic preservation laws. This bill imperils those hard-won protections and places industry in the driver’s seat,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “If you care about keeping public participation a core component of public lands decisions, the federal government being forced to think before it acts, Tribal sovereignty, or clean air and water, you should be opposed to this bill and we encourage you to reach out your members of Congress, immediately.”  

Additional information: 

Here’s just a few ways the bill would impact Southern Utah’s wildest public lands: 

• It will lock in harmful development projects on public lands, preventing future administrations from taking any action on these permitted projects even if those projects were approved illegally. This includes permits for data centers, oil and gas drilling approvals, and hard rock mining authorizations. In Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, this bill could preclude future administrations from taking corrective action on the more than 110 mining claims filed on lands within the original boundaries of the monuments that President Trump unlawfully cut by nearly 90%. The bill will also make it extremely difficult for the public to challenge development of those mining claims, permanently greenlighting endless development and harm for these iconic landscapes.  

• It will undermine Tribal sovereignty while threatening sacred and irreplaceable cultural sites. Southern Utah holds tens of thousands of cultural sites reflecting thousands of years of human history. The bill effectively rewrites provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act to restrict what is considered an important cultural site, make consultation with Tribes and communities optional and require fewer environmental impacts to be taken into consideration. These changes would limit the power of Tribal Nations to define the places that matter to them and minimize if not eliminate opportunities for Tribal Nations to be heard. 

• It will fast-track the already rapid acceleration of data center proposals on public lands. In Utah and across the country, communities are demanding greater transparency and input as data centers are rapidly built. Proposals like Project Beehive in Carbon County have many unanswered questions about their legality and potential impacts, but would be expedited if the bill passed.   

• Decreases transparency in decision making by narrowing the projects subject to environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and limiting the public’s ability to review and comment on projects that impact public lands. 

Analysis and materials by other organizations and recent media: 

• 6 threats to public lands in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, The Wilderness Society, Oct. 15, 2026 

• The National Congress of American Indians and 8 other tribal letter to Congress, arguing BAAJA undermines Tribal sovereignty and threatens sacred sites, Oct. 9, 2026.  

• Native American Rights Fund statement: “(BAAJA) has significant impacts on the ability of Tribal Nations to participate meaningfully in permitting issues that can effect their land, water, and cultural interests.” Oct. 15, 2026 

• Senate Permitting Reform Bill: If It Passes, Will It Work?, Center on Global Energy Policy, Oct. 27, 2026 

• NRDC Assessment of BAAJA, the 2026 Permitting and Transmission Bill, Oct. 27, 2026 

• More Than Just Parks: Senate Permitting Bill Is a Betrayal of Our Public Lands. Oct. 16, 2026 

• Center for Western Priorities: The Senate permitting bill would lock in data centers and nuclear waste on public lands. It only gets worse from there. Oct. 21, 2026.  

• The proposed U.S. infrastructure permitting reform bill would be a disaster for communities and for climate action, Oil Change International, Oct. 26 2026 

• A ‘Bipartisan’ Bill to Dismantle the Nation’s Bedrock Environmental Law, The Revelator, Oct. 23 2026 

• ‘Permitting Reform’ Is a Giveaway to Data Centers and Fossil Fuels, Common Dreams, Oct. 26, 2026 

• Why green groups won’t endorse the Senate permitting deal, Latitude Media, Oct.23, 2026 

• The Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened to Public Lands Could Be a New Bill You’ve Never heard Of, Wes Siler. Oct. 28, 2026.  

• John Podesta Says Permitting Deal Hands Trump ‘a Loaded Howitzer, Heatmap, Oct. 27 2026 

• Podesta warns of ‘loaded howitzer’ in permitting bill, Politico, Oct. 27, 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 Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 – 11.3.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

In late June, the Babylon Fire burned roughly 107,000 acres of the Elk Ridge landscape within the Manti-La Sal National Forest west of Monticello, Utah. This is the high country above Dark Canyon Wilderness, lying almost entirely within Bears Ears National Monument. The U.S. Forest Service is now proposing a fast-tracked public process for a sprawling “post-fire recovery” project, including commercial timber harvest, hazardous fuels reduction, road reconstruction, new temporary roads, and other vegetation removal and manipulation activities across a 95,000-acre project area.

The agency is accepting public comments on the project through Tuesday, Nov. 3. Click here to let them know you oppose this reckless approach to fire recovery.

The problem isn’t the idea of helping the burned landscape recover; it’s how the Forest Service wants to do it. Instead of analyzing the specifics of this unique and extremely important landscape, including its soils, cultural sites, wildlife, and recovery needs, the agency proposes to rely on a generic, nationwide post-fire environmental assessment prepared in Washington, DC.

Even more frustratingly, the project proposal never once mentions that it must conform to the Bears Ears National Monument Management Plan. Despite the Trump administration’s illegal reduction of the monument this summer, that plan remains the governing policy for the entire Bears Ears landscape at present. Fire recovery in Bears Ears should follow the plan written to protect this landscape, not sidestep it.

In your comments, please tell the Forest Service to:

• Follow the Bears Ears plan’s protections for fire recovery and logging.
• Meaningfully involve Tribes in planning and implementation.
• Allow logging only when it protects monument resources and supports ecological recovery.
• Disclose exactly where logging and other work would occur and what methods would be used.
• Protect steep slopes, fragile soils, and streams from further damage.
• Identify and protect cultural sites, wildlife habitat, and culturally-significant plants before work begins.

The agency needs to follow the existing management plan and reject a one-size-fits-all framework for this unique and remarkable landscape.

The post Tell the Forest Service to Follow Bears Ears Plan for Fire Recovery appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Location: Mid-Atlantic & Northeastern States with easy access (via plane or train) for regular travel to Washington, DC & Salt Lake City, UT; can also be based out of SUWA’s Washington, DC Office.  
Department: Campaigns 
Team: Organizing
Reports to: Regional Organizing Manager 
Status, Salary, & Benefits: Full-time, Non-Exempt. Benefits & salary range at suwa.org/careers.  

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Utah’s largest conservation organization, has an immediate opening for an East Coast Organizer. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, a writing sample of your choosing (a link to materials online is fine), and three references to the East Coast Organizer Hiring Team at jobs@suwa.org.  The deadline to submit your application is Monday, November 23, 2026. Please include your name and the words “East Coast Organizer” in the subject line.

Of note: This position is open to individuals currently residing in or willing to relocate to a Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern US State with easy access (via plane or train) for regular travel to Washington, DC & Salt Lake City, UT; they can also be based out of SUWA’s Washington, DC Office. 

Click here to view this job description as a PDF

The Regional Organizer builds and sustains grassroots power across a multi-state region in support of SUWA’s mission. Working within the Campaigns Department and collaboratively with other program teams, this position implements organizing tactics within their region; identifies opportunities for influence, recruits and develops advocates and emerging leaders, and builds coalition and constituent relationships. The Regional Organizer represents SUWA to the general public, elected officials and their staff, and coalition and Tribal partners. They mobilize activists nationally, especially when developments require a rapid, coordinated grassroots response outside of Utah by activating individuals, building networks, and engaging with regional coalitions.  

This is a dynamic, travel-intensive role suited to someone who thrives in field and community-based environments, communicates and coordinates well across diverse coalition spaces, and is comfortable balancing independent judgment in the field with close collaboration across teams. 

• Contribute to the design, evaluation, and adaptation of regional campaign strategy; enacts tactics in response to legislative, legal, and political developments. 

• Build and sustain a regional network of grassroots advocates and volunteers; recruit, mentor, and develop emerging leaders through training, coaching, and leadership pipelines. 

• Cultivate constituent power in priority states, districts, and communities, and in coordination with other SUWA staff leverage that power to meet the organization’s goals.. 

• In consultation with Regional Organizing Manager, recruit, supervise, and support interns, fellows, and contractors. 

• Advance federal legislative and administrative priorities through coordinated advocacy, grassroots mobilization, public comment campaigns, earned media, and coalition action. 

• Build and strengthen relationships with conservation organizations, Tribal partners, outdoor industry leaders, educators, and other allied stakeholders; represent SUWA in regional and national coalitions. 

• Prepare advocates and partners for effective engagement with elected officials and federal agencies, and translate complex public lands policy into clear, compelling public narratives. 

• Lead the planning and execution of advocacy events, fly-ins, rallies, and trainings; deliver presentations as a public spokesperson for SUWA. 

• Work collaboratively with other Regional Organizers to refine leadership curricula and advocacy training that build skills and capacity among advocates and emerging leaders. 

• Manage multiple concurrent campaigns, work plans, timelines, and regional budgets. 

• Track supporter engagement and campaign performance through CRM systems and produce evaluations and reports to inform organizational planning. 

• Support organizational retreats, publications, donor and member engagement, and other special initiatives connected to campaign goals; perform other duties as assigned to advance SUWA’s mission. 

• Work independently in the field and collaboratively across teams, departments and time zones, exercising sound judgment. 

• Travel occasionally within the region, national travel may occur during periods of urgent conservation threats or rapid-response mobilization; work evenings and weekends as campaign priorities require. 

• Regular public speaking and presentation responsibilities; ability to transport outreach and event materials up to 50 lbs. 

• Work performed in office, community, travel, remote, and public settings. 

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required for the role — the ideal candidate will have all or some of these qualifications. If you don’t have all of them, apply anyway and tell us about your skills and experience. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, veterans, and other underrepresented groups.

• A passion for SUWA’s mission of conservation of wilderness lands in Utah and a strong desire to connect people to action in service to these lands.  

• Demonstrated experience in grassroots organizing, campaign management, or community engagement, across multiple states or regions a plus 

• Aptitude and inclination for building relationships across diverse constituencies, including Congressional offices, and to recruit, train, and manage volunteers or activist networks within region. 

• Strong organizational, budgeting, public speaking, and interpersonal communication skills 

• Ability to travel extensively (frequently 25–75%+ depending on programming needs), maintain a flexible schedule, and a valid driver’s license 

• Computer literacy including Google and MS Office products, plus database/CRM tools 

• Experience in advocacy, campaigns, public affairs, conservation, political strategy, or coalition work 

• Knowledge and/or experience in land conservation, environmental advocacy, or related policy work; knowledge of wilderness conservation or federal land management 

• Experience building coalitions with allied organizations; familiarity with legislative or regulatory processes 

• Curriculum development or training/facilitation experience; experience representing organizations in public-facing or spokesperson roles 

• Bilingual or multilingual skills; ties to Utah a plus but not required 

The post Now Hiring: East Coast Organizer appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
October 28, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Dr. Jacqualine Grant, Executive Director, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners (GSEP); (435) 269-1237 (jackie@gsenm.org)
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201

GARFIELD COUNTY, UT – 41 new mining claims (see map) have recently been located in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – 13 in the shrunken Monument, six that may be in the shrunken Monument, and 22 in lands that were previously protected. The previously protected lands became subject to mining claims on Friday, September 11 – 60 days after President Trump decimated Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears by shrinking these national monuments by over 90%. Lands within the reduced Monument remain closed to mining claims and any/all newly located claims here are invalid.

The new mining claims (see map), all filed by Dan W. Proctor, are in three general areas: (1) Colt Mesa (Dan and his son Nick acquired mining claims filed during the previous Trump reduction by Glacier Lake Resources, a Canadian company. Neither Glacier Lake nor the Proctors have developed these claims.); (2) near Studhorse Peaks; and (3) on the northern edge of the reduced Monument, close to where it borders the Dixie National Forest, south of the Circle Cliffs. 13 of the claims near Colt Mesa are in the reduced monument boundaries and six more may be. 

The exact location of the 6 mining claims won’t be confirmed until the paperwork accompanying the recordation of the claims is reviewed. It is also impossible to know at this stage the actual footprint of any mining operations on the claims. The public won’t know the size of any proposed operations until Mr. Proctor files paperwork with the Bureau of Land Management indicating whether it’s notice-level mining (5 acres and under, mostly not subject to federal environmental laws such as NEPA, NHPA, etc.) or plan-level mining (generally 5 acres or more, is subject to federal environmental laws).

“These 41 new claims – in addition to the 72 claims located in Bears Ears National Monument – illustrate that illegally shrinking the monuments was done to further the Trump administration’s extraction-focused agenda,” said Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These 113 mining claims put some of southern Utah’s most remarkable places at risk of being irreparably damaged and reinforce the need for vigilance while we work to permanently restore both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.”

“These new mining claims threaten what makes the Monument a scientific hotspot. At risk is North America’s second largest petrified forest, a magnificent and nearly unmatched 225-million-year-old site dating back to the late Triassic period,” said Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. “Also at risk is a Federally listed plant species, Jones cycladenia. Only five populations of this rare plant are known to exist; in 2021, energy and mineral development were identified as major threats to its continued existence. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is worthy of protection and should not be threatened by short-sighted mining efforts.”

“The growing number of mining claims at Grand Staircase-Escalante is a warning of what could happen when protections are stripped away, and Tribal Nations and local communities are shut out of decisions about these lands. Irreplaceable cultural resources, wildlife habitat and our freedom to experience one of America’s most extraordinary public landscapes are all at risk,” said Charlie Luke, Utah State Director at The Wilderness Society. “Grand Staircase deserves lasting protections that preserve these irreplaceable values for future generations.”       

“Gut a national monument, and this is the predictable result, a rush of mining claims across lands Americans have repeatedly said they want protected,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Lands Analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Grand Staircase-Escalante is a globally significant landscape, but mining companies and speculators are exploiting a law written in 1872 to stake claims on public lands that contain irreplaceable cultural resources, wildlife habitat, and scientific treasures. Americans should not have to watch iconic public lands be carved up because the administration has decided to disregard the importance of our national monuments.”

 “Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s paleontology and geology hold the stories of our planet’s past and the monument remains a living cultural landscape of vital importance to many tribes,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector for the Grand Canyon Trust. “According to a recent poll, Utah voters strongly prioritize conservation over mining. These mining claims are short-sighted and out of step with what Utah voters want.”

“The claims that continue to come out of the woodwork make no secret of the Trump administration’s true motives for shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments,” said Director of the Sierra Club in Utah, Franque Bains. “Exploiting the culturally significant, revered, and treasured lands so many are connected to for a quick buck is the definition of greed. Utahns want these lands protected, not offered up on a platter for industrial development.”

“It’s heartbreaking to watch this extraordinary place chipped away by mining claims, when Tribal Nations have maintained deep connections to these lands since time immemorial,” said Davina Smith Idjesa, Four Corners Tribal Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association. “This confirms what we knew about the proclamation to dismantle the monument. This was always about slashing protections, including clearing the way for unchecked energy development and dismantling co-stewardship structures that give Tribal Nations a leading role in managing their ancestral lands. Grand Staircase-Escalante is deeply intertwined with the National Park System, linking Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Now, we’re seeing the result when the door is left wide open to reckless drilling and mining.” 

Background Information on other Mining claims: 

Under President Trump’s proclamations decimating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by over 90%, mining claims could not be staked until 60 days after the date of the proclamation: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Despite this, on July 14, 2026, Kimmerle Mining filed 7 mining claims (see map) with the San Juan County (Utah) Recorder’s Office. Kimmerle Mining previously filed mining claims after Trump’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and excavated a partially reclaimed mine shaft on one of the claims – the so-called Easy Peasy claim (this mine has been re-buried); Kyle Kimmerle (a Managing Member of Kimmerle Mining) was also a plaintiff in one of the cases filed in the District of Utah challenging President Biden’s 2021 restoration of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.  

Two mining claims were also filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante, less than one month after Trump’s attack. On August 6, 2026, Craig Rosequist filed two mining claims (see map) with the Kane County (Utah) Recorder’s Office in areas cut out of the monument by the Trump proclamations. According to public records, Rosequist previously located several mining claims in neighboring Washington County, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management should reject claims filed in both national monuments prior to Sept. 11. 

From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduction), there were a total of 20 mining claims filed in the lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. So far, more than triple that number – 72 claims – have been filed. 

Background information about the national monument reductions:

• Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
• SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
• Full Statement and Quotes Tracking
• Maps of the reductions
• Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments

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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 Over 40 Mining Claims Filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, including at least 13 within shrunken boundaries appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Judge Chutkan Reopens National Monuments Litigation

On October 13, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order granting a request by SUWA and other conservation groups (filed in September) to reopen the 2017 litigation challenging President Trumps’ illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Those cases had been stayed after President Biden restored the two monuments in 2021. Now, unfortunately, they’re relevant again.

During a status conference held a few days later, Judge Chutkan ordered the federal government to give those working to protect the monuments 48 hours advance notice of any surface disturbing activities on lands cut from the national monuments.

“President Trump’s attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, two crown jewels of the nation’s public lands system, was illegal, plain and simple,” said SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch. “And because of this unlawful act, irreplaceable cultural resources and the monuments’ unique geology and flora and fauna are now at risk from activities like mining. Today was an important step towards restoring protections for the monuments. We’re looking forward to presenting our arguments to the court and defending these remarkable landscapes.”

>> Read our full press release

Photo © Whit Richardson

Bears Ears Mining Claims Increase to 72 (So Far)

Since mining restrictions were lifted on lands Trump illegally cut from Bears Ears National Monument, 72 mining claims have been filed on some of those now unprotected landscapes. This is more than triple the number of claims filed after Trump’s first-term attack on the monument.

“The pace of new mining claims in Bears Ears National Monument is alarming and reinforces the need for vigilance while we work to undo Trump’s illegal actions and restore both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments,” said SUWA Staff Attorney Hanna Larsen. “These claims are located in some of the region’s most remarkable places, including the headwaters of the Dark Canyon Wilderness and just outside Natural Bridges National Monument.”

SUWA continues to monitor these claims and will act as necessary to protect both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments from irreversible harm.

>> Read our most recent press release

Photo © Jeff Foott

SUWA and Partners File Suit to Protect Nine Mile Canyon

On October 6, SUWA, alongside the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition and Center for Biological Diversity, sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for approving a hydrocarbon highway through Gate Canyon in eastern Utah. That project—if completed—would straighten 6 miles of what is currently a scenic, winding gravel road and involves the blasting and destruction of 100-foot-tall canyon walls, Utah historical sites, and habitat for threatened wildlife. It would also lead to dramatically increased truck traffic, sometimes mere feet away from archaeological sites in nearby Nine Mile Canyon, often described as the “world’s longest art gallery” due to its abundance of Native American rock imagery.

This would all be done to accommodate 70-foot oil tanker trucks traveling to the oil fields and transloading facilities in Carbon County, Utah. As many as 1,000 vehicles could pass through the area each day—the equivalent of a tanker truck every 7 minutes, according to news reports.

Our lawsuit challenges the BLM’s rushed and behind-closed-doors environmental review for failing to disclose or analyze the impacts of increased traffic and the destruction of Gate Canyon on scenery, wildlife, the area’s rock imagery, and historic axle grease inscriptions. The agency also ignored its own management plans that require protecting cultural and scenic values and violated the federal National Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act.

>> Read our full press release

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

BLM Proceeds with Plan to Auction Off Wild Landscapes for Fossil Fuel Development

Last month, SUWA and many of our supporters submitted comments on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lease sale offering 43 parcels of public land in Utah for oil and gas development, including wild places in the Dirty Devil and Hatch Point regions. The agency has since released a final environmental assessment discounting that input and intends to move forward with the sale.

As you may recall, many of the parcels—including some near Bears Ears National Monument—are in designated critical habitat for the Mexican Spotted Owl, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Yet the BLM failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about foreseeable impacts to the owl, as required by the ESA. Instead, the agency kicked the can down the road to the drilling stage when it claims that it may (but likely won’t) fulfill that requirement. This backwards approach is illegal and does nothing to ensure the owl is protected.

SUWA plans to file a formal protest of the leasing decision. Stay tuned for future updates.

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Attention Wordsmiths: SUWA Is Hiring!

Can you imagine writing copy for future Redrock Reports and drafting (or editing) a wide array of other SUWA materials, both print and digital? Now is your chance! SUWA is seeking a Writer & Communications Specialist to join our growing Communications Team. If you have a deep love for protecting public lands, strong writing skills, and experience with social media, please apply. We offer great benefits and the opportunity to learn and grow with other communications professionals in support of a great cause.

The application deadline for this position is Monday, November 9. Learn more, including how to apply, at suwa.org/careers.

On the Horizon: November 2026 Elections

We’d be remiss if we didn’t note that the 2026 Midterm elections are less than two weeks away on Tuesday, November 3. During this election, at the federal level, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot, and depending on where you live you may have a senator on the ballot as well. This is in addition to any races that may be happening at the state, county, or local level.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, SUWA does not endorse candidates, but we can encourage you to vote! In many states, early voting or vote-by-mail is already underway. You can visit vote.org to check your registration status and learn about how to vote, wherever you live. One final ask: once you’ve made a plan to vote, reach out to a family member, friend, or colleague and help them do the same!

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

Location: Any SUWA Office: Salt Lake City (preferred), Moab, or Washington, DC
Department: Campaigns
Team: Communications
Reports to: Senior Communications Manager
Status, Salary & Benefits: Full-time, Non-Exempt. Benefits and salary range at suwa.org/careers.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Utah’s largest conservation organization, has an immediate opening for a Writer and Communications Specialist. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, three writing or content samples (links to materials online are fine) that showcase a range of writing styles, and three references to Diane Kelly, Senior Communications Manager, at jobs@suwa.org. The deadline to submit your application is Monday, November 9, 2026. Please include your name and the words “Writer and Communications Specialist” in the subject line.

Click here to download the job description as a PDF

The Writer and Communications Specialist is a new role at SUWA and will serve as an in-house writer and social media manager for the organization. A member of the Communications Team (alongside two other staff members), they will work across the organization and use their skills primarily to support programmatic and campaign work (protecting the redrock wilderness). The Specialist should be a motivated communications professional with experience writing for a variety of audiences and on behalf of an organization and other staff members. Experience in advocacy, social media, and multichannel content creation as well as comfort working in what can be a fast-paced environment is ideal. Attention to detail and flexibility with evolving information and deadlines will be key.  

SUWA’s Communications Team and the larger Campaign Department (which includes both the Communications and Organizing Teams) are collaborative and value creative problem-solving. We are proactive and plan ahead when possible but remain nimble so we can seize new opportunities as they arise. The Writer and Communications Specialist will have the opportunity to work collaboratively and to create or edit a wide variety of public-facing materials, as well as information used by SUWA’s members and grassroots activists. This role presents a great opportunity to learn and grow with other communications professionals while making an impact at an effective nonprofit.  

• Creates or edits a variety of public-facing materials (press releases, emails, advocacy actions, newsletter articles, paper alerts, fact sheets, blog posts, etc.), ensuring they meet SUWA style guide and consistency. 

• Creates or edits a variety of materials (talking points, backgrounders, educational materials, etc.) for use by SUWA staff or members. May draft materials for use by partner organizations, activists, or other individuals.  

• Works closely with the Campaigns and Communications Director during rapid response moments on SUWA’s external response and outreach.  

• Works closely with other Communications Team staff to modify the materials above for use across various SUWA platforms, especially social media.  

• Posts on SUWA’s social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram Bluesky, LinkedIn, etc.); interacts with users and responds to social media messages, inquiries, and comments with the goal of maintaining a robust online community and encouraging deeper engagement. Works with the Organizing and Stewardship Teams to identify new activists from social media and connects these activists to the appropriate team for continued engagement.  

• Develops and utilizes an editorial calendar specifically for social media, with a pool of “evergreen” content. Social media graphics will be created in coordination with other Communications Team members.  

• Creates and utilizes social listening practices to better understand the digital landscape of SUWA’s issues, online advocates, and overall brand reputation. 

• Cross-trained on production of advocacy actions and email blasts; assists Senior Communications Manager on print newsletter, mailed alerts, and any other special projects. Supports the Senior Communications Manager with ongoing website maintenance (general content, forms, blog posts, online store, etc.) and the editing, formatting, and sending of emails (as needed). 

• Analyzes and makes recommendations to improve other teams’ use of the SUWA digital engagement tools. 

• Represents Communications Team and Campaigns Department during internal meetings and in collaborations with other teams across the organization.  

• May assist Development Team with writing or editing copy as needed. 

• Supports organizational retreats, publications, donor and member engagement, and other special initiatives connected to campaign goals; performs other duties as assigned to advance SUWA’s mission. 

• Works independently and collaboratively across teams, departments, and time zones, exercising sound judgment in dynamic political and advocacy environments. 

• Travels occasionally within the region, with national travel during urgent conservation threats or rapid-response mobilization; works evenings and weekends as campaign priorities require. 

• Assists SUWA staff with public speaking and presentation responsibilities; ability to transport outreach and event materials up to 50 lbs; work performed in office, community, travel, remote, and public settings. 

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required for the role — the ideal candidate will have all or some of these qualifications. If you don’t have all of them, apply anyway and tell us about your skills and experience. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, veterans, and other underrepresented groups.

• 2+ years of relevant experience, or any combination of education, experience, and training which provides the desired knowledge, skills, and abilities. 

• Commitment to wilderness preservation and SUWA’s mission. The ideal candidate will have a background in, or at least a strong interest in, conservation and/or environmental issues. 

• Strong writing, communication, presentation, time management, planning, and interpersonal skills. 

• Demonstrated knowledge of social media and proficiency with major social media platforms. 

• Demonstrated experience with CMS and CRM platforms, WordPress, and online advocacy action platforms.  

• Computer literacy, including MS Office products: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.  

• Diplomacy, sound judgment, and discretion when dealing with members, potential members, and other staff. 

• High degree of energy, self-motivation, and flexibility; Strong work ethic with a positive attitude. 

• Ability to perform multiple tasks effectively with a focus on timeliness and responsiveness. 

• Experience with Adobe Products (InDesign, Photoshop, Express, etc.), Canva, or other programs. 

• Experience in advocacy, campaigns, public affairs, conservation, political strategy, or coalition work; knowledge of wilderness conservation, public lands policy, or federal.
  

• Bilingual or multilingual skills; ties to Utah a plus but not required. 
  
  

The post Now Hiring: Writer and Communications Specialist appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

October 15, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order granting SUWA and other conservation groups’ request to reopen the case and lift the stay that was in place regarding 2017 litigation over President Trumps’ illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Today, during a status conference, the Judge ordered the parties to agree on a briefing schedule and to confer on her current notice order requiring the federal government to give plaintiffs 48 hours advance notice of surface disturbing activities on the lands cut from the national monuments. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information. 

“President Trump’s attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, two crown jewels of the nation’s public lands system, was illegal, plain and simple,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “And because of this unlawful act, irreplaceable cultural resources and the monuments’ unique geology and flora and fauna are now at risk from activities like mining. Today’s hearing was an important step towards restoring protections for the monuments. We’re looking forward to presenting our arguments to the court and defending these remarkable landscapes.” 

Additional information: 

On September 2, 2026, conservation groups (including SUWA) challenged President Trump’s July 2026 unlawful decimation of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. The groups filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking to reactivate litigation against Trump’s 2017 monument rollbacks and challenge both sets of illegal proclamations together. Conservation groups were joined by two additional coalitions of monument supporters, who also filed to renew their litigation on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante today.  

In July, President Trump illegally redrew the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, reducing both monuments by more than 90%. The attack was one of the largest rollbacks of public lands protections in U.S. history, cutting a million acres more than the 2017 reductions. From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduction) there were a total of 20 mining claims filed in the lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. As of mid-October, more than triple that number – 72 claims – have been filed. 

The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes presidents to designate national monuments, but it does not give them the power to shrink the monuments created by their predecessors or to undercut their protections. Congress’s intent was clear: the Antiquities Act must be used to protect the nation’s archaeological, cultural, and scientific wonders.  

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — home to dinosaur fossils not found anywhere else in the world — is often described as a “dinosaur Shangri-la.” It was established as a national monument in 1996, and in the two decades since it was protected, paleontologists have unearthed fossils from 21 previously undiscovered dinosaur species.  

The region also holds great cultural significance to numerous Tribes. It is renowned for the remarkable geologic features for which it is named — a series of massive, stepped cliff formations that form, literally, a grand staircase. It is home to serpentine canyons that provide endless hiking adventures and streams that support diverse populations of native plant and animal life.    

Bears Ears National Monument is home to cliff dwellings and other structures built by the Ancestral Puebloan people, more than 100,000 Native American cultural sites, innumerable historic landmarks, and iconic wildlife such as bears, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions. Tribes continue to visit the lands to hold ceremonies and connect with their ancestors. The 2016 monument designation included a historic plan for co-management of this unique landscape by federal agencies and five Tribes (the Bears Ears Commission) with sacred cultural interests in the lands.  

National monuments provide economic benefits to local economies, creating jobs, enhancing communities and boosting local outdoor recreation economies across the country. Monuments are also incredibly popular. A 2026 State of the Rockies poll found that 91% of Western voters say existing national monument designations should be kept in place. Contrary to Trump’s statements, the monuments offer numerous opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and education and see over a million visitors combined annually. These activities and visitors are vital economic drivers for the rural communities that serve as gateways to the monuments.  

Earthjustice represents The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, and the Center for Biological Diversity in the litigation. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) are co-plaintiffs, represented by their own counsel.  
 
Because the existing cases are currently stayed, the plaintiffs also asked the court to reopen the cases and formally requested permission to file the updated complaints.  
  
Photos of both national monuments are available here: https://medialibrary.earthjustice.org/share/083E8A8D-5C8A-474D-9783139D836B7ACE/ 

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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 Judge Chutkan Reopening National Monuments Litigation – 10.15.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.