September 2009 Redrock Report

Redrock Report
September 2009

There's a lot happening this month with the redrock:
1.  Historic Red Rock Bill hearing announced!
2.  Annual SUWA Roundup held last weekend.
3.  National Public Lands Day is this Saturday.
4.  Celebrate National Wilderness Month by sending a friend a redrock eCard!
5.  Redrock activists met with over 30 congressional offices this summer.
6.  America's Red Rock Wilderness Act's supporters continue to grow.
7.  See a SUWA slideshow this October!


Help Make the Red Rock Bill Hearing a Success!

Last week, we shared some exciting news -- an historic hearing for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act is scheduled for next Thursday, October 1, before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.  Now, we need your help to make this event a success!

If your Representative is on the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, please call his/her office and ask that he/she attend the hearing and support the bill in his/her statements and questioning of witnesses.

If you are a Utah citizen, please take a minute to send a message to your Representative to show that Utahns do care about wilderness and support a Red Rock Bill hearing. 

 

SUWA Members Gather in the San Rafael Swell

SUWA’s annual Roundup took place over the weekend of September 18-20.  Sixty happy campers from Utah and surrounding states joined us to experience the beauty of the Lower Muddy Creek Region of the San Rafael Swell, a place SUWA is working to protect.  Roundup participants left the weekend trip excited to work on generating support for redrock wilderness in advance of the congressional hearing on October 1.

 

High Volunteerism Expected for National Public Lands Day in Utah's Protected Areas

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Red Butte Wilderness.  Photo by Ray Bloxham/SUWA.
September 26th will mark National Public Lands Day, and high volunteerism is expected in Utah's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness and other protected areas.  Volunteerism on public lands -- which helps overburdened federal land managers maintain trails, pick up trash and more -- is on the rise nationally on BLM's conservation lands and is significantly improving conservation efforts on Utah's public lands.

In Utah, volunteers with Great Old Broads for Wilderness and Sierra Club will maintain trails, remove unauthorized fire rings, restore tracked-up landscapes where vehicles have entered Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), sign WSA boundaries, remove graffiti, and monitor ancient archaeological sites for illegal digging and vandalism on Cedar Mesa. At the newly designated Red Butte Wilderness Area in southwestern Utah’s Washington County, volunteers will help to implement the new Wilderness designation by eliminating vehicle tracks, signing area boundaries where appropriate, rehabilitating and removing unsightly fire rings, and generally cleaning up trash. Last week at the Westwater Canyon Wilderness Study Area, volunteers removed trash and non-native species and cleaned up campsites along the Colorado River.

For more information on National Public Lands Day and projects in Utah, go to www.publiclandsday.org.

 

There's Still Time to Celebrate National Wilderness Month!

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On the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act, President Obama officially proclaimed September 2009 as “National Wilderness Month.”   The President’s action heralds some exciting new opportunities to protect Utah wilderness in the months ahead. 

To seize these opportunities, we need everyone who cares about Utah’s wild public lands to stand and be counted.  Please invite your friends and family to add their voices to the Utah wilderness movement by sending them an eCard depicting the beauty of Utah’s wild lands, with a few simple steps they can take to show their support. 

 

Activists Across the Country Participate in Wild Utah Local Action Month

This summer, Utah wilderness activists met with over 30 members of Congress and their staff for Wild Utah Local Action Month!  These meetings have already proven extremely helpful in increasing the number of cosponsors of America's Red Rock Wilderness Act and advancing other legislative priorities for protecting Utah wilderness.

The SUWA grassroots staff would like to extend its gratitude to all who participated.  Without this type of contact from constituents, there would not be as many congressional supporters of Utah wilderness as there are today.

 

*New Cosponsor Spotlight*

After returning from the summer congressional recess, more members of Congress added their names to the ever-growing list of cosponsors of America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.  Those recently signing onto to the bill are Representatives Michael Doyle (D-PA), Melvin Watt (D-NC), Dan Maffei (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Rob Andrews (D-NJ).  If you live in any of the above states or districts, please thank your senator or 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!

  

SUWA's Slideshow Presenters Are Back in Action this Fall

SUWA's multi-media slideshow presentation, Wild Utah: America's Redrock Wilderness, hits the road again this fall...

Clayton Daughenbaugh, SUWA's Midwest Field Organizer, will be traveling to Minnesota and Michigan this October.  For more information or to schedule a slideshow in the Midwest, email Clayton at clayton@suwa.org. 

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

Barbara Eubanks, SUWA's Western Regional Organizer, will be on the road in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona in October.  For more information or to schedule a slideshow in the West, email Barbara at barbara@suwa.org. 

Click here for a complete schedule.