Take Action: Defend the Dirty Devil!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft motorized travel management plan for the remote and stunning Henry Mountains and Dirty Devil area—a plan that will determine where off-road vehicle (ORV) use is allowed in this landscape for decades to come. Stretching from Capitol Reef National Park to Canyonlands National Park and down to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, these rugged public lands are at the heart of redrock country.

It’s critical that the BLM strike the right balance between motorized and non-motorized users, but the agency is under tremendous pressure to increase damaging off-road vehicle (ORV) use. Some of the proposals the BLM is considering would substantially expand the number and mileage of ORV routes, threatening to transform these lands from quiet backcountry into motorized-dominated playgrounds.

The BLM is accepting public comments through Saturday, October 26th. Please personalize your comments by adding your own experiences in the Henry Mountains and Dirty Devil areas, including examples of when you have been impacted by the sight and/or sound of ORVs, as well as the quiet and solitude you’ve found in exploring these remarkable landscapes. If you would like assistance writing more specific comments, email nicole@suwa.org. Visit our website for more information about travel management plans and review our Henry Mountains/Dirty Devil story map

>> Take action to Defend the Dirty Devil by Saturday, Oct. 26th!

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

These changes will help protect some of Glen Canyon’s most scenic, fragile, and special places while still balancing opportunities for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. We encourage you to voice your support for these much-needed updates! However, we believe the public (and the remarkable Glen Canyon landscape!) would further benefit from minor tweaks as outlined in our advocacy action below.

The NPS is accepting public comments through Friday, November 15th. As always, personalized comments are the most effective. If you wish, you can also submit comments directly to the NPS via the agency’s web portal; all comments must include the words “National Park Service” or “NPS” and the docket number/RIN: 1024-AE91. You can learn more in our recent blog post, The Past, Present, and Future of Motorized Vehicle Use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

After President Biden signed a proclamation restoring Bears Ears National Monument to its full, original boundaries (plus an additional 12,000 acres added to the Trump-era Indian Creek unit), the BLM began the process of developing a new management plan. Many of you submitted comments during this process (thank you!) and the final plan takes that input into account.

“Today’s release of the final Bears Ears National Monument Management Plan marks the culmination of years of hard work by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, in collaboration with the Five Tribal Nations that comprise the Bears Ears Commission, as well as significant stakeholder input,” said SUWA Wildlands Attorney Judi Brawer. “We expect the final plan to prioritize the long-term protection of this unique cultural landscape. SUWA will carefully review the final plan, and will closely monitor its implementation to ensure future actions protect and preserve the monument’s irreplaceable natural and cultural resources.”

• Re-approved two controversial drilling permits for lithium exploration near the entrance to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park, even though the Australian company (A1 Lithium) behind the project has previously conducted unauthorized activity at the project site.

• Approved a Canadian company’s proposal to develop the Labyrinth Canyon region for potash and lithium. The exploratory project includes the construction of four new well pads and the drilling of four wells on the east side of the Labyrinth Canyon stretch of the Green River.

“[These] decisions by the BLM completely fail to give this remarkable landscape the respect it deserves,” said SUWA Staff Attorney Landon Newell. “Rather than holding this bad actor (A1 Lithium) to account for their past unauthorized actions, BLM has instead given them the green light to proceed. Regarding Labyrinth Canyon, large-scale mining will permanently destroy this landscape and the over-stressed Colorado River cannot support new, speculative, water-intensive mining. SUWA intends to closely review these decisions and take all appropriate steps to protect this remarkable redrock landscape.”

Final Environmental Analysis Released for Cross-Tie Transmission Project

In Late September, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the release of the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Cross-Tie 500-kV Transmission Project, a proposed transmission line (214 miles of which would be located on BLM land) connecting Utah and Nevada. We previously shared a blog post, Cross-Tie Transmission Project: Proposed Improvements to Protect Wild Places, and asked supporters to take action and submit comments on this proposed project. Your input helped influence the agency’s siting of the transmission line—thank you!

“SUWA supports the urgent and necessary transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy, as well as the need to improve reliability in energy transmission,” said SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch. “We’re disappointed, however, with the FEIS’s disclosure that the Cross-Tie Transmission Line will carry electricity generated by the burning of fossil fuels, as well as renewables . . . At the same time, we appreciate the siting changes proposed to better protect the wild nature of Utah’s West Desert.”

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

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