Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

Last Friday, after most people left work, President Trump announced the repeal of two executive orders (11644 and 11989) 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 a bit of background, Presidents Nixon and Carter issued those executive orders in response to an explosive increase in ORV use in the 1960s and 70s across public lands and the corresponding environmental damage and conflict. Together, the orders directed federal land management agencies to develop regulations to address that increasing ORV use by “minimizing” the resultant impacts. This included locating ORV areas and trails to minimize damage to public land resources and wildlife as well as conflicts between different recreationists. 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.  

For roughly 50 years, these orders have helped protect streams, wildlife and their habitats, and opportunities for safe recreation by providing clear and consistent guidance for motorized and nonmotorized users on Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service lands. And each of those agencies subsequently issued regulations to implement the Nixon and Carter orders.  

Trump’s latest action marks a significant shift in public lands management, one that prioritizes 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. 

SUWA is no stranger to the problem of excessive ORV use. BLM lands and redrock country have been at the center of ORV issues for decades, and SUWA has been on the front lines of this issue the entire time. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we challenged extensive cross-country ORV use in wilderness study areas and BLM’s hands off approach to ORV use across the state. More recently, SUWA successfully challenged unbalanced travel management plans that prioritized ORVs to the detriment of cultural sites, wildlife habitat, desert waterways and those seeking quiet and solitude in redrock country. And we are not going to stop now. 

While motorized groups and the Trump administration like to throw around words like “access,” what they really mean is they want ORV use anywhere and everywhere regardless of the impact to natural and cultural resources or other public land visitors. Simply put, “access” does not only mean motorized access. In Utah alone, right now there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt routes and trails open to ORV use in addition to more than 130,000 acres open to cross-country ORV use (meaning vehicles can literally drive anywhere within those designated areas). 

Trump’s actions won’t make public lands more accessible but will make the public land experience worse for everyone. It will create confusing and unsafe conditions, while at the same time damaging wildlife habitat and cultural resources.  Hikers, hunters, bikers, equestrians, and those seeking quiet time with friends and family in the outdoors will end up being overwhelmed by the dust, noise, and damage caused by unregulated ORV use.  

For now, regulations implementing the two executive orders—requiring local land managers to minimize damage from ORVs and conflicts between different public land users—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. SUWA will be there every step of the way, fighting to protect Utah’s incredible wild places. 

If you haven’t already, please submit comments via our San Rafael Swell and San Rafael Desert advocacy actions; proposals for these areas would add new routes or re-open previously closed routes to ORVs. The comment period closes on Monday, June 8. 

The post Trump Administration Takes Aim at Public Lands . . . Again appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The elected officials behind 2025’s failed public lands sell-off attempts – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) – introduced a joint resolution to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). 

If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the 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 – will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. This would be a devastating blow to the monument and could turn it into a wildly different place. We cannot let this happen. 

View our StoryMap and learn more

• Visit our action page and email your members of Congress, telling them to vote NO on the joint resolution. 

• Reach out to your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues who you know also love the redrock, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and southern Utah. Send them a link to our action alert and encourage them to join our email list too!

• Share this action on social media – be sure to tag our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok. 

• Call your Representative and both of your Senators (find office numbers here), saying something along the lines of: “Hi my name is _____, and I’m a constituent from ______. I am calling to urge you to vote NO on the Congressional Review Act Resolution targeting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument management plan.  The monument — a crown jewel of America’s public lands and a place like nowhere else in the world — should be protected for its rich biodiversity, unique geology, and remarkable cultural values. The resolution to disapprove the plan puts everything that is special about Grand Staircase-Escalante at risk. Please vote NO. Thank you.”

• If you live outside of Utah, reach out to a member of SUWA’s Grassroots Organizing Team to get more involved and find out if your member of Congress is one who could cast a deciding vote.  

• View and share our Grand Staircase-Escalante StoryMap.

• Watch our recent Virtual Rally for Grand Staircase-Escalante and learn about ways to take effective action from wherever you live.

• If you’re able, consider financially supporting SUWA. Our members and supporters make our work possible. 

• If you’re looking for another way to participate, we encourage you to get creative! We’re seeking artistic works for use in an interactive map for Grand Staircase-Escalante. Create something new or share a piece you’ve already made. This can range from short stories about your experiences in the monument, to quick sketches, to your favorite photographs! Email files to loveforgse@suwa.org. 

For over 40 years, SUWA and the nationwide Protect Wild Utah movement have worked tirelessly to protect wilderness-quality lands, including the monument. That work continues, undeterred.  Thank you for standing with us at this critical moment.  

View Our “Love for Grand Staircase-Escalante” StoryMap of Art Submissions

The post Actions You Can Take to Defend Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Resolutions to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) have been introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02). Once either chamber of Congress takes up the legislation, we’ll post live updates as they consider this legislation, with the most current information at the top of this webpage (as well as a link to watch the proceedings live). If you haven’t already, review our actions you can take to defend the monument. A timeline and additional information can be found below.

(All times are MT. These updates come from SUWA staff and our best interpretations of proceedings)

• March 4, 2026 –  Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) – introduced joint resolutions to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the 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 – will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. 
  
  
• February 26, 2026 – Senator Mike Lee formally begun the process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument byadding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion regarding the Monument’s Management Plan to the Congressional Record (see page 51). Conservation groups began sounding the the alarm regarding the GAO opinion, requested by Rep. Maloy, on January 22, 2026. 
  
  
• January 7, 2025 – Following two and a half years of work, anew Monument Management Plan was finalized for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. As a part of that work, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) engaged in extensive outreach to Tribal Nations, the State of Utah, local governments, stakeholders (including outfitters and guides, ranchers, local 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 March 2026, the elected officials behind 2025’s failed public lands sell-off attempts – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) – introduced a joint resolution to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). 

If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the 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 – will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. This would be a devastating blow to the monument and could turn it into a wildly different place. We cannot let this happen. 

The post Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument CRA Vote – Live Updates appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 2, 2026 

Contacts:
Laura Peterson, Senior Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (801) 236-3762; laura@suwa.org

Washington, D.C. – Last Friday, after most people left work for the weekend, President Trump announced the repeal of two executive orders (11644 and 11989) that govern off-road vehicle (OHV) and over-snow vehicle (OSV) use on public lands. He further directed federal land management agencies to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these orders, risking chaos and confusion on public lands across the country. 

For 54 years, these orders have helped protect streams, wildlife and their habitats, 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. In response, numerous conservation organizations cried foul over this latest attack on public lands. 

Below are quotes and background information:

“These executive orders provided the foundation for common-sense management of motorized vehicles on public lands, recognizing the detrimental impact unmanaged motor vehicles have on cultural sites, wildlife, waterways and other public land users,” said Laura Peterson, Senior Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “In Utah alone, there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails open to motorized vehicles. Far from motorized vehicles being kept out of public lands, it’s quite the opposite: it’s the wildlife and visitors trying to picnic or camp with their families that are being chased out at every turn. The impacts of repealing these executive orders will be long-lasting and devastating.” 

“Removing or weakening regulations for properly managing motorized recreation will endanger at-risk fish and wildlife, particularly grizzly bears and bull trout, because off-road vehicles choke streams with dirt and damage sensitive habitats,” said Adam Rissien, rewilding manager with WildEarth Guardians. “Today’s off-road vehicles are even more powerful, more damaging than when the first orders were put in place to protect public lands from unfettered motorized recreation, and removing long-standing protections will only make matters worse.” 

“Nobody wants national parks damaged by off road vehicles. The administration is making sweeping changes that could throw open the doors to unchecked off-road vehicle use that puts at risk the very resources national parks were created to protect,” said  Cory MacNulty, Southwest Region Campaign Director for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). “With thousands of miles of roads and trails across public lands already open to off-road vehicles, what is at stake here is not access – it’s the future of the places that Americans love most.”

“Public lands are big enough for hikers, hunters, horseback riders, mountain bikers, motorized users and families looking for quiet places to camp, if we are wise about how we share them,” said Alison Flint, Acting Vice President for Federal Policy at The Wilderness Society. “For more than 50 years, common-sense safeguards have helped land managers reduce conflicts, protect clean water and wildlife habitat, and make sure public lands can be enjoyed by everyone. This administration is working to destroy this foundation, which has been in place since Richard Nixon. This is a cynical attempt to pit public land users against one another while weakening the rules that protect the land itself. Our children and grandchildren deserve public lands that are healthy, shared and cared for—not places where decades of balanced management are tossed aside for special interests.”

“The intent of these executive orders was to minimize environmental damage and user conflict from motorized vehicle use (including snowmobiles) on public lands,” said Anneka Williams, Winter Wildlands Alliance Policy Director. “They were established in the 1970s in response to widespread and increasing off-road vehicle use on public lands to balance motorized and non-motorized recreation and protect natural ecosystems and wildlife. Without these orders, there is no guidance to minimize impacts from motorized recreation, a loss that will have lasting consequences for decades to come.” 

 “This rescission is yet another loss for wildlife and natural places,” said Vera Smith, director of national forests and public lands for Defenders of Wildlife. “Removing common-sense tools for managing all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles on public lands is reckless and nonsensical.”

“If you want to make the public land experience worse for everyone – motorized and non-motorized – blowing up travel management is a good place to start,” said Hilary Eisen, federal policy director at Wild Montana. “It’s how we keep public lands working for everyone. These EOs are the foundation land managers rely on to provide motorized access while protecting wildlife, natural resources, and opportunities for quiet, non-motorized recreation. Getting rid of them to satisfy a tiny minority of users just invites more use conflict, makes public lands more dangerous, and degrades public lands and waters. This is a reckless move that could set off a chain reaction that undermines everything we love about our public lands.”

“Recreationists of all types enjoy camping next to clean mountain streams, seeing wildlife, and enjoying the great outdoors with their friends and family. Public lands managers have relied on the previous executive orders to protect water quality, ensure wildlife have space to roam, and preserve high-quality recreation opportunities for everyone,” said John Robison, public lands and wildlife director at the Idaho Conservation League. “If agencies no longer have to minimize the impacts of motorized recreation to water quality, wildlife, and other recreationists, we are in danger of degrading the very values of our public lands that draw us there again and again. In the end, everyone will be worse off.” 

“Loud engines stress wildlife, displacing them from feeding and breeding areas. Tire damage speeds erosion and harms ecosystems,” said Chris Bachman, Conservation Director at the Yaak Valley Forest Council. “Vehicle tires and undercarriages carry seeds into forests and grasslands, disrupting natural systems and food resources. The Roadless Rule has been rescinded, and every effort is being made to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Now this? This administration appears determined to cause significant harm to our public lands at every turn.”

“As we see in nature, balance needs to be our rule. More and more we are seeing the scales of regulation be tipped wildly in one direction, towards extraction and deregulation of public lands,” said Allison Weber, Policy Director for Friends of the Inyo. “We support the protection of ecosystems and species, and we know that regulation of various activities on public lands are necessary to achieve that goal, to obtain balance between natural and recreational values. Deregulating recreation like OHV use ultimately leads to degradation of the landscapes and the routes themselves, followed by additional labor and money by our public lands agency staff to restore them to working order. If we want to all enjoy these landscapes for years to come, we are moving in the wrong direction.”

“This executive order puts America’s wild places at risk by prioritizing motorized vehicle access over the protection of wildlife, clean water, and public lands. For decades, commonsense safeguards have helped land managers balance motorized recreation with conservation and other types of recreation, ensuring that public lands remain healthy and accessible for everyone,” said Athan Manuel, Director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. “Eliminating responsible motorized management threatens fragile habitats, increases damage to sensitive landscapes, and undermines the experiences of people seeking quiet recreation in nature. America’s public lands belong to all of us, and future generations deserve the chance to experience wild and thriving places. Instead of weakening protections, we should be strengthening our commitment to conserving the natural heritage that makes these lands so special.”

“For decades off-road vehicles have had an outsized impact on BLM-managed lands and that’s especially true today as faster and louder vehicles blanket the landscape,” said retired BLM Director Jim Baca. Baca served as BLM Director from 1993-94. “ORVs harass wildlife, degrade streams and destroy cultural sites, and are generally a nuisance to other public land visitors. BLM has struggled mightily to control this use and its job has only gotten harder under Trump’s second term as career BLM personnel have been fired and the agency’s budget decimated. Trump’s latest Order – undoing Nixon and Carter-era Executive Orders that directed BLM to ‘minimize’ the impacts these vehicles have on public lands and resources – is only going to make BLM’s job harder at a time when it needs to be doing more than ever to rein in this activity.” 

“Without proper management, off-road vehicles tear up vegetation, disrupt wildlife, damage streams, and lead to conflicts among recreational users,” said Thomas Delehanty, attorney at Earthjustice. “President Trump is discarding the long-standing, common-sense framework for managing off-road vehicle use to cater to a narrow set of interests. Our public lands, streams, and wildlife will pay the price.”

Background

In response to the growing use of dirt bikes, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and other off-road vehicles (ORVs), and corresponding environmental damage and conflicts with non-motorized users, Presidents Nixon and Carter issued Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 in 1972 and 1977, respectively. These executive orders require federal land management agencies to plan for ORV use to protect resources and other recreational uses. Specifically, the executive orders require that, when designating areas or trails available for ORV use, the agencies locate them to: 

(1) minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other resources of the public lands; 

(2) minimize harassment of wildlife or significant disruption of wildlife habitats; and 

(3) minimize conflicts between off-road vehicle use and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or neighboring public lands.

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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 President Trump Revokes Executive Orders Protecting Public Lands from Unmanaged Motorized Recreation  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

With less than two weeks for the Senate to take up Senator Mike Lee’s Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution to undo the management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, our staff in DC are closely watching the Senate’s calendar. In the meantime, we’re throwing a Virtual Rally for Grand Staircase-Escalante this Wednesday evening! Please join us—and bring any friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues who also love the redrock, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and southern Utah.

Virtual Rally for Grand Staircase-Escalante!
Wednesday, June 3, at 6 pm MT on Zoom
Click here to register

We know the ongoing uncertainty and “hurry up and wait” feeling surrounding the CRA fight has been hard. But our love of the monument keeps us grounded in a world filled with distractions. 

During this virtual rally, you’ll hear from SUWA’s Organizing Team and executive director, as well as some of the many voices speaking out to defend the monument—Native leaders, scientists, former Bureau of Land Management staff, and others! We’ll share the latest on the CRA timeline, hear stories from grassroots activists, and, of course, send you off with the latest actions you can take to protect this remarkable place.

Click here to register now.

Thank you for all you’re doing to speak up and protect Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Need some inspiration? Check out our “Love for Grand Staircase-Escalante” StoryMap and review this interactive piece from the More Than Just Parks Substack.

The post Virtual Rally for Grand Staircase-Escalante! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

May 29, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – Friday evening, in his latest attack on federal public lands, President Trump announced the repeal of Executive Order 11644 of February 8, 1972 (Use of Off-Road Vehicles on the Public Lands), and Executive Order 11989 of May 24, 1977 (Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands). He further directed federal land management agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these Orders. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.  

“The reality is that there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails in Utah’s canyon country open today to motorized vehicles. Far from motorized vehicles being kept out of public lands, it’s quite the opposite: it’s the wildlife and visitors trying to picnic or camp with their families that are being chased out at every turn,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These executive orders provided the foundation for common-sense management of motorized vehicles on public lands. They recognized the destructive impact unmanaged motor vehicles have on our public lands and required federal agencies to minimize the damage. The impacts of today’s Order will be significant, long-lasting, and devastating.” 

About Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 

Presidents Nixon and Carter issued Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 in 1972 and 1977, respectively, in response to the growing use of dirt bikes, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and other off-road vehicles (ORVs) and corresponding environmental damage and conflicts with non-motorized recreationists. These executive orders require federal land managers to plan for ORV use to protect resources and other recreational uses. Specifically, the executive orders require that, when designating areas or trails available for ORV use, the agencies locate them to: 

(1) minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other resources of the public lands;  

(2) minimize harassment of wildlife or significant disruption of wildlife habitats; and  

(3) minimize conflicts between off-road vehicle use and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or neighboring public lands.   

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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. 

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters 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 President Trump’s Repeal of Travel Management Executive Orders – 5.29.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

We’re disheartened to report that Garfield County has begun chip sealing (effectively paving) the first 10 miles of Hole-in-the-Rock Road within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Below we share some information about why this is happening—and why our fight to preserve the character of this rugged backroad at the heart of the monument matters.  

Hole-in-the-Rock Road runs from the junction of Highway 12, east of the town of Escalante, to the top of the cliffs above the Colorado River within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; it provides access to popular destinations like Spooky and Peek-A-Boo slot canyons, Devil’s Garden, and Coyote Gulch. Surrounded by wilderness-quality lands, 57 of the road’s 62 miles are within the monument (the remaining are in the recreation area) and 16 miles are in Garfield County. It is an unpaved, primarily dirt road that is core to the remote experience that defines the monument.  

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 for the road, 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 before making any improvements, such as widening or realigning the road, installing new culverts, or chip sealing the surface.

The BLM, for its part, is required by law to protect the things that make the monument so special, and to make sure that activities like these do not cause unnecessary damage to public lands. Sadly, the agency entirely failed in those duties, idly standing by while the county conducted weeks of unauthorized work that will forever change the character of this area.  

When SUWA learned that the BLM had completed its consultation for the chip sealing and authorized the county to proceed, we immediately swung into action and sought a temporary restraining order from the court; late last Friday a federal judge denied our request. This week we’ve filed another motion seeking an emergency injunction to pause the county’s chip seal work. Meanwhile, the county is rushing to complete the paving before the court has 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, serene backcountry experience the monument was created to protect, and that draws visitors from around the world. 

In the future, we hope to share more positive news. SUWA’s work to Protect Wild Utah and the national monument—which is also currently at risk—continues on, thanks to people like you. At SUWA we take the long view, and we firmly believe that these places are worth fighting for. If you’re able, please consider a donation to support SUWA’s work.

For Grand Staircase-Escalante,

Hanna Larsen & Steve Bloch
Staff Attorney & Legal Director

The post An Update on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (on-site, full-time, exempt)
Salary Range: $70,000-$78,000, commensurate with experience
Application Deadline: June 15, 2026

Download the Legal Fellow Job Description as a PDF

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is the only nonprofit organization working full-time to protect Utah’s redrock wilderness—some of the most spectacular public lands in America. Since 1983, SUWA’s staff, board, and members have worked to defend this landscape from threats like fossil fuel development, unnecessary road construction, and destructive off-road vehicle use. With offices in Salt Lake City, Moab, and Washington, DC, and tens of thousands of supporters across the country, SUWA has secured lasting protections for more than 5.5 million acres of wild public lands.

Our mission is to preserve the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau and ensure these lands remain in their natural state for the benefit of all. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work and in our organization, knowing that the redrock is for everyone.

The legal fellow is a 2-year litigation position that will focus on defense of Utah’s wildest federal public lands. SUWA’s litigation docket includes cases involving national monuments, off-road vehicles, Quiet Title Act (R.S. 2477), energy development, and vegetation removal. The legal fellow works closely with other program staff in SUWA’s Salt Lake and Moab offices and is supervised by the legal director.

• 1-3 years of relevant experience, including familiarity with federal public land, environmental, and administrative law statutes and regulations.
• Demonstrated interest in environmentalism or conservation—passion for wilderness and public lands preferred.
• Excellent time management, analytical, legal research, and writing skills.
• Ability to handle a substantial workload that will, at times, require working nights and weekends.
• Commitment to wilderness preservation and SUWA’s mission.
• Utah Bar Licensure: (1) Utah bar membership, or (2) the ability to transfer UBE score; or (3) be admitted by motion

• Location: SUWA’s Salt Lake City Office. We work a hybrid schedule with at least 3 days per week in the office.
• Salary range: $70,000-$78,000, commensurate with experience.
• Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, retirement contributions, and general leave policies; details can be found online at suwa.org/careers

Please submit a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, 3-5 page writing sample, and 3 references to Steve Bloch, Legal Director, at hiring@suwa.org.

Application deadline: June 15, 2026

The lands SUWA works to protect are the ancestral homelands of many Tribes, including those that were forcibly removed at the hands of the U.S. government in an effort to exterminate their cultures, languages, and ways of life. These injustices are still felt today, but the quest to erase the Tribes failed: Indigenous communities continue their traditions and remain an integral part of the landscape and our community. We are committed to working toward understanding this history; to expanding present-day common ground, collaboration, and reconciliation with our Tribal neighbors; and to advocating that Tribes receive a seat at the table when others would exclude them.

SUWA is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

The post Now Hiring: Legal Fellow (Salt Lake City) appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Grand Staircase-Escalante Remains in the Spotlight

For months now, the fight to protect Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s management plan has been the number one priority at SUWA. Senator Lee and Representative Maloy are seeking to undo the plan using the Congressional Review Act (additional background can be found here) and their efforts may soon be coming to a head: we’re anticipating a vote in either the House or the Senate during the first two weeks of June.

If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the plan will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. Thanks to the Protect Wild Utah movement, opposition is growing nationwide—conveyed through phone calls, in-district meetings, letters to the editor, DC fly-ins, and so much more—and we know members of Congress are getting the message! 

Here are a few recent materials we wanted to highlight:

• Executive Director Scott Braden has a piece—Congress is gunning for a National Monument in Utah—in Writers on the Range.
• Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert wrote an op-ed for the Salt Lake Tribune (which no longer has a paywall!)
• The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has issued a statement in opposition to use of the CRA.
• Over 150 scientists joined a sign-on letter in opposition, garnering stories in the Salt Lake Tribune, Outside, and other outlets.
• SUWA launched a “Love for GSE” Storymap of art inspired by the monument (and we’re still accepting submissions)

We’ll be in touch as soon as we know more about the vote timing. No matter where you live, our Grassroots Organizing Team can help you find the most effective ways to take action. Click here to learn more.

Photo © Jeff Foott

Speak Up for the San Rafael Swell and Desert!

Utah’s San Rafael Swell and San Rafael Desert are home to irreplaceable cultural and historic resources, important wildlife habitat, and unmatched recreation opportunities, including destinations such as Mexican Mountain, Buckhorn Draw, Tomsich Butte, Sweetwater Reef, designated wilderness areas, and the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area. Unfortunately, Trump’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering substantially expanding damaging off-road vehicle use across these unique landscapes.

As a refresher, the BLM completed travel management plans for these two regions in 2022 and 2024. Those plans were far from ideal, designating hundreds of miles of new motorized vehicle routes at the expense of natural and cultural resources as well as non-motorized recreationists. Now the BLM is planning to go even further with a proposal to open hundreds of miles of additional off-road vehicle routes in its latest quest to transform quiet, wild places into motorized playgrounds.

The agency is accepting public comments through Monday, June 8. While the comment deadline is the same for each plan, they are being analyzed separately. Please follow the link below to submit comments, especially if you have first-hand knowledge of one or both landscapes.

>> Click here to submit your comments by June 8.

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Tell BLM: No Active Airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness!

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Price field office is proposing to authorize aircraft takeoffs and landings in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness by designating the unauthorized Keg Knoll backcountry airstrip as open for aircraft use. The airstrip is located on the west side of Labyrinth Canyon and north of Canyonlands National Park.

While the Wilderness Act gives the BLM some discretion to allow (or prohibit) continued use at airstrips that were legally established prior to wilderness designation, it does not allow the agency to authorize aircraft use when the airstrip was not legally open prior to the wilderness designation. That’s the situation here. And there are plenty of backcountry airstrips throughout Utah that don’t impact designated wilderness areas (only around 4% of BLM land in Utah is designated wilderness).

The BLM is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) and intends to issue a decision soon. Please follow the link below to submit comments as soon as possible. At the Trump administration’s direction, the agency is not planning to release a draft EA to the public or hold a formal public comment period.

>> Click here to submit comments now

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Proposed Plan for San Rafael Swell Recreation Area Favors Development, ORV Dominance 

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the final environmental assessment and proposed resource management plan (RMP) amendment for the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area and surrounding region. You may recall that this 117,000-acre recreation area was established under the 2019 Dingell Act, along with 663,000 acres of BLM wilderness and other conservation designations.

The BLM is required to update its management plan for each of the new designations. Unfortunately, for the recreation area, it’s choosing to reverse course and emphasize off-road vehicle use and extractive development over conservation. This includes removing over 12,000 acres of natural areas (wilderness-quality lands managed to protect their wilderness values), eliminating commonsense recreation management and resource protection requirements, and reducing or eliminating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern outside of designated wilderness.

“We’re disappointed that BLM, at the behest of the Trump administration, squandered this opportunity to set out a proactive, comprehensive vision for resource protection and recreation management in the incredible San Rafael Swell and instead focused its energy and limited resources on rolling back existing protections to allow for more development and off-road vehicle abuse,” said SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark.

>> Read our full statement

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

DC Update: The Good, Bad, and Ugly News from this Month

The Bad: Senate Confirms Steve Pearce as BLM Director. Yesterday, by a vote of 46–43 the U.S. Senate confirmed anti-public lands politician and former U.S. Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM) as the next director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“Today’s vote is disappointing,” said SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill. “Anyone who cares about the future of public lands, national monuments, or the redrock knows that Steve Pearce has fundamentally disqualifying views—such as opposing the very existence of public lands—and should not hold the position of Director of the Bureau of Land Management.” >> Read our full statement 

The Ugly: Trump Interior Department Rescinds Public Lands Rule. We’ve known for a while that this was coming, and last week the BLM’s Public Lands Rule (aka the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule) was officially rescinded. Responding to the news, SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch said, “The Public Lands Rule reiterated that the BLM had to put conservation on equal footing with other uses and laid out a framework for the agency to restore degraded landscapes and protect intact public lands for current and future generations. Americans and Utahns widely supported the Rule and we are deeply disappointed to see the Trump administration’s shortsighted effort to undo it. Our work to Protect Wild Utah continues, undeterred.” >> Read our full statement

The Good: House Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) Endorses ARRWA. Earlier this month, the SEEC endorsed 21 member-led bills—and America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (championed by SEEC member Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-NM-01) is among them! According to the coalition’s May 7 release, “The bills we are endorsing today reiterate that we must protect our nature and wildlife, invest in American science and clean energy innovation, hold polluters and corrupt corporations accountable, and safeguard our communities against rapidly worsening extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis. This is the future that the American people want and deserve.”

>> Please add your support today by asking your members of Congress to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (or thanking them if they already have!).

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

May 18, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – Today, by a vote of 46 – 43 the U.S. Senate confirmed anti-public lands politician and former US Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM) as the next director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); the vote was part of an en bloc (multiple) nomination vote. Below is a statement from SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill and additional information.  

“Today’s vote is disappointing. Anyone who cares about the future of public lands, national monuments, or the redrock knows that Steve Pearce has fundamentally disqualifying views – such as opposing the very existence of public lands – and should not hold the position of Director of the Bureau of Land Management,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “While the Trump Administration continues its deeply unpopular efforts to undermine public lands protections, SUWA’s work continues to protect Utah’s redrock country for current and future generations.” 

Additional information: 

• SUWA’s 3.4.26 Statement on Senate Committee Vote re: Steve Pearce’s Nomination to Lead the BLM 

• SUWA’s Advocacy Action to members 

• SUWA’s 11.5.25 Statement on Steve Pearce’s Nomination to Lead the BLM 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a federal agency, is part of the Department of the Interior, a Cabinet-level department headed by Secretary Doug Burgum. In Utah, the BLM manages 22.8 million acres of public land, ranging from “spectacular red-rock canyons and roaring rivers to high mountain peaks and expansive salt flats,” including Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (designated in 1996 and the first monument managed by the BLM) and Bears Ears National Monument (designated in 2017 and jointly managed with the US Forest Service).  

The BLM manages several congressionally-designated wilderness areas in Utah, including remarkable places such as Muddy Creek (Emery County), Canaan Mountain (Washington County), and the Cedar Mountains (Tooele County). BLM-Utah also manages more than 80 Wilderness Study Areas and other significant public landscapes including Nine Mile Canyon, Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, and the Desolation Canyon and Labyrinth Canyon stretches of the Green River (designated Wild and Scenic Rivers). SUWA’s signature bill, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, would designate more than 8 million acres of BLM land in Utah as wilderness.  

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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 Senate Vote Confirming Steve Pearce as Director of the BLM – 5.18.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

May 15, 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) released the final environmental assessment and proposed resource management plan (RMP) amendment for the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area and surrounding region. As a result of the 2019 Dingell Act, which included new land management designations and established the Recreation Area, the BLM was required to update its management plan for each of the affected areas. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark and additional information.  

“We’re disappointed that BLM, at the behest of the Trump administration, squandered this opportunity to set out a proactive, comprehensive vision for resource protection and recreation management in the incredible San Rafael Swell and instead focused its energy and limited resources on rolling back existing protections to allow for more development and off-road vehicle abuse,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “What’s more, instead of meaningfully engaging the public throughout the process, the BLM instead held a general scoping period more than 4 years ago and then jumped to a final decision that cuts out any opportunity for the public to weigh in on the specifics of its plan. The Trump administration practice of intentionally avoiding meaningful input and scrutiny is undemocratic and a disservice to public land users and this world-class landscape” 

Additional information: 

The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which was signed into law on March 12, 2019, designated 663,000 acres of BLM-managed wilderness within 17 new wilderness areas. In addition, the legislation established the 117,000-acre San Rafael Swell Recreation Area, added 63 miles of the Green River to the National Wild and Scenic River System, and designated the John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area and the Jurassic National Monument. Additional information can found here. SUWA members and supporters submitted comments to the BLM in late 2021 and early 2022 regarding the proposed RMP amendments. 

In part, BLM’s RMP amendments: 

• Remove over 12,000 acres of natural areas —wilderness quality lands managed to protect their wilderness values—located outside of designated wilderness to allow increased development and off-road vehicle use. 

• Eliminate the San Rafael Swell Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) and instead designate four new Extensive Recreation Management Areas (ERMAs), a less meaningful designation where recreation is not the primary management focus but instead is integrated into other land uses such as grazing and mineral development. 

• Eliminate commonsense recreation management and resource protection requirements to pack out human waste, use fire pans, and not collect firewood at dispersed campsites  

• Reduce or eliminate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) outside of designated wilderness that will allow for increased development and associated impacts in those areas, even after noting in their scoping document that they would “prioritize the protection and designation of ACECs” 

• Reduce protections for visual resources in some areas to allow development that conflicts with maintaining scenic viewsheds. 

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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 Proposed Changes to the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area – 5.15.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Utah’s San Rafael Swell and San Rafael Desert are known for their sinuous slot canyons, soaring redrock cliffs, and prominent buttes. These quintessential redrock landscapes are home to irreplaceable cultural and historic resources, important wildlife habitat, and unmatched recreation opportunities, including destinations such as Mexican Mountain, Buckhorn Draw, Tomsich Butte, Sweetwater Reef, designated wilderness areas, and the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering substantially expanding damaging off-road vehicle use across these landscapes.

Please speak up today for the San Rafael Swell and the San Rafael Desert.

As a refresher, the BLM previously completed travel management plans for the San Rafael Swell and San Rafael Desert in 2024 and 2022, respectively. Frankly, neither plan was particularly good because each prioritized off-road vehicle use at the expense of natural and cultural resources as well as non-motorized recreationists. Together, those plans designated hundreds of miles of new motorized vehicle routes. Now the Trump BLM is planning to go even further and is proposing to open hundreds of miles of additional off-road vehicle routes in its latest quest to transform quiet, wild places into motorized playgrounds.

The San Rafael Swell and Desert are too special to meet that fate.

The BLM is accepting comments through Monday, June 8. While the comment deadline is the same for each plan, they are being analyzed separately. Follow the links below to comment on each plan.

These beloved landscapes offer endless opportunities for hiking, camping, and spending time with family and friends. They should be known for stunning vistas, abundant cultural sites, and opportunities for solitude, not off-road vehicle damage.

Do you know the San Rafael Swell or Desert especially well? Comments that draw from first-hand knowledge and experiences in these areas are the most effective. Have questions? Reach out to our Utah Organizer, Mimi Ortega, and she’ll be happy to help guide you through the process.

Thank you!

The post Take Action: Speak Up for the San Rafael Swell and Desert! appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
CONSERVE SOUTHWEST UTAH
CONSERVATION LANDS FOUNDATION
SOUTHERN UTAH WILDERNESS ALLIANCE
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 11, 2026

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

Washington, DC – Conserve Southwest Utah, along with six Utah-based and national conservation organizations, amended their February lawsuit today over the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to adequately protect the threatened Mojave desert tortoise when reapproving the Northern Corridor Highway in January 2026. The long-opposed highway would tear through critical habitat for the Endangered Species Act (ESA)-protected tortoise within Red Cliffs National Conservation Area near St. George, Utah. 

In addition to other laws, the newly filed complaint alleges new violations of the ESA by the Fish and Wildlife Service and BLM — including for the unlawful disposal of lands purchased using federal funding intended to protect the tortoise to make way for the highway. Fish and Wildlife Service’s final environmental analysis supporting the land disposal was issued on the same day in February 2026 that the conservation groups, represented by Advocates for the West, filed their lawsuit challenging the illegal highway’s reapproval. The amended complaint was filed now to comply with the required 60-day notice to federal agencies of ESA violations. 

“The proposed Northern Corridor Highway would carve through one of the last strongholds of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise, permanently destroying the very habitat this species needs to survive,” said Stacey Wittek, Conserve Southwest Utah’s Executive Director. “St. George can have smart economic growth without accelerating the irreversible loss of a species already on the brink of extinction.”

The Mojave desert tortoise is a keystone species, providing the supporting structure and stability for its desert environment. Its population decline signals significant risk for the overall ecological health of the desert. The number of tortoises within the core of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve has declined over 50% since 1998, and the proposed Northern Corridor Highway would bisect the only remaining high-density cluster of tortoises in the Reserve. 

“The federal agencies’ environmental analysis has shown that punching a high-speed highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area would permanently eliminate designated tortoise habitat and increase threats like wildfire and invasive species,” said Hannah Goldblatt, staff attorney at Advocates for the West and counsel for the conservation groups. “Moving forward anyway ignores both science and the law — and pushes the Mojave desert tortoise closer to extinction.”

Conservation groups’ amended complaint follows the U.S. District Court’s issuance of an injunction this March prohibiting the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) from starting construction-related activities that would cause irreparable harm to the ESA-protected tortoise.

A Route Rejected Seven Times

The Department of the Interior has rejected the controversial Northern Corridor Highway route seven times, determining that it would be “biologically devastating” to the threatened Mojave desert tortoise.

Since 2006, local residents have also strongly opposed the highway, pointing out transportation alternatives outside of Red Cliffs National Conservation Area that would do a better job of relieving traffic congestion, supporting economic growth and protecting wildlife, scenic beauty and local access to trails. 

Despite the immense local opposition, the BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service approved a right-of-way for the Northern Corridor Highway in the final days of the first Trump administration. Conservation groups sued, arguing that the approval violated multiple federal laws. 

In 2021, 6,800 acres west of St. George designated “Zone 6” were added to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve as mitigation for the Northern Corridor Highway. Zone 6 contains the Greater Moe’s Valley outdoor recreation area, and its ownership is split between the BLM and the state Trust Lands Administration. While conservation groups support protection of the Moe’s Valley area for both recreation and conservation, they agree with federal agencies’ assessment that its geographic isolation from the rest of the tortoise’s protected habitat, along with other factors, diminishes its conservation value and does not adequately offset the damage caused by the Northern Corridor Highway. 

Conservation groups’ 2021 lawsuit resulted in a settlement agreement and a U.S. District Court decision sending back the project’s right-of-way approval for reconsideration. Agencies acknowledged that the approval did not comply with the law and required additional environmental analysis in light of recent wildfires that further degraded Mojave desert tortoise habitat and native vegetation. After updating its environmental analysis, the BLM rejected the project in late 2024.

The agency’s2024 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement found the project would permanently eliminate designated critical tortoise habitat, increase wildfire probability and frequency, spread noxious weeds and invasive plants, and harm more cultural and historical resources than any alternative considered.

In October 2025, the BLM said it would reconsider the highway right-of-way application after UDOT argued that the federally endorsed alternative was not economically viable, despite documented environmental and community costs associated with the Northern Corridor.

Abandoning their previous scientific findings, the BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service reapproved the Northern Corridor Highway in January 2026. The decision reverses federal agencies’ December 2024 rejection of the same proposal and marks the eighth time the controversial highway has been considered. 

Conservation groupssued in February 2026, challenging federal agencies’ reapproval of UDOT’s highway proposal for violating multiple federal laws, including the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.

About Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

The 44,724-acre Red Cliffs National Conservation Area overlaps the larger Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, which is jointly managed by the BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the state of Utah, Washington County, and local municipalities. The reserve was established under a 1995 Habitat Conservation Plan as a compromise to protect roughly 61,000 acres of public lands for the threatened Mojave desert tortoise while allowing development on about 300,000 acres of state and private land. Congress designated the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in 2009 to “conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources” of the public lands within the unit.

The region supports key populations of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise and other at-risk plants and animals, including the Gila monster, burrowing owl, and kit fox. Researchers say the Mojave desert tortoise is on a path to extinction, and its habitat in southwest Utah –– which houses some of the densest tortoise populations –– is especially vulnerable amid rapid growth in the region.

Additional Information and Resources:

• Informational website: protectredcliffs.com
• Lawsuit Challenges Illegal Highway Through Utah’s Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – February 4, 2026
• Federal Agency Re-Approves Highway Through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Abandons Own Scientific Findings – January 21, 2026
• BLM Again Considering Four-Lane Highway Through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – October 7, 2025
• Decades-Long Highway Fight Ends with Victory for Red Cliffs NCA – December 20th, 2024
• Local and National Organizations Applaud Plan Signaling Denial of Highway Right-of-Way – November 7, 2024
• Conservation Organizations Respond to Washington County’s Continued Attacks on Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – August 7, 2024
• Federal Agencies Release Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on a Highway Right-of-Way Through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – May 9, 2024
• BLM and FWS Press Release – November 15, 2023
• Report – Washington County at a Crossroads: An analysis of the proposed Northern Corridor Highway project in Southwest Utah
• Summary of Desert Tortoise Study in Red Cliffs NCA: Population Trends, Threats to Persistence, and Conservation Significance

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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 Northern Corridor Highway Risks Irreversible Harm to Mojave Desert Tortoise – 5.11.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

May 11, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Washington, DC – The Department of the Interior has announced the rescission of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule. Among other things, the Rule reiterated that conservation is a key component of the BLM’s multiple-use mission and ensured that the agency consistently managed for that use. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.  

“America’s wildest public lands face unprecedented threats from the Trump administration and its repeated decisions to prioritize fossil fuel development and extractive industry over clean water, wildlife habitat, and wild open spaces. This is especially the case in Utah, where Trump’s policies are having direct and irreversible impacts on the nation’s redrock wilderness,” said Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “The Public Lands Rule reiterated that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had to put conservation on equal footing with other uses and laid out a framework for the agency to restore degraded landscapes and protect intact public lands for current and future generations. Americans and Utahns widely supported the Rule and we are deeply disappointed to see the Trump administration’s shortsighted effort to undo it. Our work to Protect Wild Utah continues, undeterred.” 

Additional information:  

The Public Lands Rule established a “… framework to ensure healthy landscapes, abundant wildlife habitat, clean water, and balanced decision-making on our nation’s public lands.” It did not preclude any uses on BLM-managed public lands; it puts conservation on equal footing with grazing, mining, and energy production, and promoted restoration, provided for responsible development, and conserved intact healthy landscapes. The Rule was the product of an extensive, years-long public process with multiple in-person and online meetings and opportunities for public comment. 92% of the comments received by BLM supported the Rule. 

The Public Lands Rule is the subject of litigation brought by Republican-led states and industry groups in several federal district courts around the country; additional information can be found here. In February 2025, Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01) re-introduced the Western Economic Security Today (WEST) Act; this federal legislation would require the Director of the BLM to withdraw the Rule. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) is an original co-sponsor of S.530 (WEST Act of 2025), companion legislation in the Senate, which was introduced in February 2025.  

• BLM’s webpage on the Public Lands Rule.  

• SUWA’s 9.10.25 Statement on the Trump Administration’s Plan to Rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule; Advocacy Action from SUWA during the public comment period 

• SUWA’s 4.16.26 Statement on the Trump Administration’s Plan to Rescind the Landmark Public Lands Rule 

• SUWA’s 2.11.25 Statement on the WEST Act and its Impact on the Public Lands Rule 

• 10.1.24 Press Release – Utah and National Conservation Groups Move to Defend Balanced Management of Public Lands from Mining and Oil Industry Lawsuit 

• SUWA’s 4.18.24 Statement when the Final Rule was announced.  

• “The BLM Public Lands Rule is a common-sense solution” June 25, 2023 Editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune 

• 3.30.23 SUWA Statement on the Proposed Rule; Advocacy Action from SUWA during the public comment period 

• Information regarding public comments received by BLM  – 92% of which were supportive.  

• Utah-specific polling data from the 2024 Conservation in the West Poll, which shows a clear and resounding preference for conservation when voters are given a choice over how public lands are used.  

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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 the Trump Administration’s Rescission of the BLM Public Lands Rule – 5.11.26    appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.