Help Protect Utah's New Wilderness and National Conservation Areas
The Watchman in
Washington County, copyright David
Pettit |
Three distinct life zones come together in Utah’s southwestern corner -- the
Colorado Plateau, the Mojave Desert, and the Great Basin -- resulting in lands
that are among the most diverse and sensitive in all of Utah. Just over a year
ago, Congress passed legislation to protect 180,000 acres of these public lands
in Washington County; some lands were designated wilderness and others were
included in National Conservation Areas. The Omnibus Public Lands
Management Act of 2009 was a huge step toward preserving spectacular Mojave
Desert ecosystem in Utah -- with its striking Joshua trees and threatened desert
tortoise -- as well as the redrock canyons and plateaus on the western edge of
the Colorado Plateau, and the higher elevation peaks of the Great Basin
region.
But the legislation was just the first step. Now the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) is developing plans to manage these places -- some of the
very first BLM-managed wilderness areas and National Conservation Areas (NCAs)
in Utah -- and you can help ensure that the agency does the job right.
During this planning process, BLM will: 1) Amend the 1999 St.
George Resource Management Plan (RMP) to address off-road vehicle designations,
designate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), evaluate wilderness
character of lands not designated as wilderness in the Omnibus legislation, and
address other public land management issues such as “recreation zones” and
Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMAs),
2) Prepare an off-road
vehicle Transportation and Travel Management Plan, and
3) Prepare
Resource Management Plans for Beaver Dam Wash NCA and Red Cliffs
NCA.
What you can do: It is essential that BLM craft strong plans
worthy of the lands and resources the agency is charged with protecting, as they
will set an important precedent for future plans as more of Utah’s public lands
are officially preserved as wilderness or NCAs.
It is important that BLM
receive your input emphasizing appropriate off-road vehicle routes, the need to
protect wildlife and habitat, and suitable management decisions to protect the
lands with wilderness character that were not included in the recent
legislation. But time is short! Please submit your written comments to
the agency by July 19, 2010. Click here for more
information and suggestions about what you can write to
BLM.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Bartz Field Attorney Southern Utah
Wilderness Alliance
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