Redrock Report
March 2010

Here's what is happening this month with the redrock:
1.  Help protect Utah's magnificent Arch Canyon from off-road vehicle damage.
2.  Show us how "wild" you are about Utah!
3.  Faith communities urge Utah leaders to support wilderness stewardship.
4.  New redrock bill cosponsors include Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA).
5.  See a SUWA slideshow this April, including new "dust on snow" presentations in Colorado! 

Threatened Places: BLM Considering Commercial Jeep Event in Arch Canyon

A jeep plows through Arch Canyon.  Photo copyright Liz Thomas/SUWA.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently considering an application by Jeep Jamboree USA to hold an off-road vehicle (ORV) event in Arch Canyon at the end of April, during which large groups of Jeeps would be driven up and down the canyon.  Located in southeastern Utah, Arch Canyon is a place of magnificent natural beauty and solitude, and is rich in archaeological sites, including rock art and structures, some of them 2,000 years old.  Although the BLM has not inventoried or recorded the vast majority of the archaeological sites in Arch Canyon, the federal agency has allowed ORV use to occur in this proposed wilderness area, causing impacts to prehistoric and historic cultural resources.  The free-flowing creek in Arch Canyon is a rare desert gem; streams amount to merely 1% of Utah’s public lands yet support nearly 80% of Utah’ wildlife.  ORVs cross the stream in Arch Canyon 120 times in the round trip up and down the canyon, causing significant damage to the streambed and degradation of water quality and habitat of sensitive fish species.

SUWA has filed a lawsuit challenging BLM’s decision to deny our petition to protect Arch Canyon from ORV damage.  In the meantime, ORV use continues to threaten the resources of Arch Canyon.

Please send an email to the Utah BLM State Director requesting that:

1)      BLM prohibit ORV use in Arch Canyon, and
2)      BLM deny Jeep’s application for a Jeep Jamboree in Arch Canyon in April.

You can send your concerns to:
Selma Sierra, Utah State BLM Director
Selma_Sierra@blm.gov

Enter SUWA's "Wild About Utah" Photo Contest! 

 Is your “Protect Wild Utah” button pinned to your backpack?  Have you been someplace far from Utah and seen a “Protect Wild Utah” sticker on a building, sign or car bumper?  By design, our bright yellow buttons and stickers are easy to spot from far away.  Now, you can win a prize for displaying your love of Utah’s redrock country and being a good photographer.  Just send a photo of yourself or a friend wearing a “Protect Wild Utah” button or sticker OR submit a photo of a button or sticker in an interesting location (let’s keep it clean, please!).

For full contest details or to request a button or sticker, be sure to visit the SUWA's photo contest webpage.

All contest entries will be posted on SUWA's Flickr page -- add SUWA as one of your Flickr contacts to keep updated on new entries! 

Faith and the Land: A Call for Wilderness Stewardship at Utah's State Capitol

God isn’t making any more wilderness,” said Reverend Erin Gilmore of the Holladay United Church of Christ.  “It’s up to us to protect what remains.”

In an historic event that has the power to shift the conversation about wilderness in Utah, members of 11 different faith traditions stood together in the rotunda of the State Capitol in February and called on state lawmakers to recognize the spiritual importance of Utah’s wilderness heritage and to support meaningful protection for the state’s remaining wild lands.  Reinforcing their call for wilderness stewardship was an impressive exhibit of 24 posters featuring over 250 handwritten personal statements about why Utah’s wild lands matter spiritually.  The posters were created at “Wilderness Stewardship” events held last fall and winter within the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Islamic, Jewish, Latter-day Saint, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Quaker, Unitarian Universalist, and United Church of Christ faith communities and one interfaith event.

*New Cosponsor Spotlight* 

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)

In this, the 111th Congress, we have surpassed the number of House cosponsors for America's Red Rock Wilderness Act in the 110th Congress!  Those recently signing onto to the bill are Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA).  If you live in any of the above districts, please thank your representative!

For a full list of cosponsors, click here.  If your members of Congress are not on the list of cosponsors, please ask them to sign onto the bill by clicking here!

Watch Out for a Wild Utah Slideshow this April

SUWA's multi-media slideshow presentation, Wild Utah: America's Redrock Wilderness, will be on the road in April!

SUWA's Midwest Field Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, will be presenting in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota this April.  For more information or to schedule a slideshow in the Midwest, email Clayton at clayton@suwa.org. 

SUWA's National Grassroots Organizer, Jackie Feinberg, will be traveling to Virginia and Florida in April.  For more information or to schedule a slideshow along the East Coast, email Jackie at jackie@suwa.org.   

SUWA's Western Regional Organizer, Terri Martin, will be showing our new "Redrock Wilderness or Red Dust Melting Colorado Snow?" presentation in Colorado this April.  For more information or to schedule a slideshow in Colorado, email Terri at terri@suwa.org.