Washington County
Write a Comment Letter to BLM

Congress designated 14 new wilderness areas, and the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs NCAs to protect the sensitive, plants, animals and other resources in Washington County—let’s make sure it happens!  Please send a letter to BLM supporting conservation of the sensitive and stunning public lands in Washington County.

Here are some suggestions for your letter:

  • Request that BLM  conduct a wilderness inventory of the lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA) that have not yet been protected by Congress.

  • Ask BLM to protect the lands proposed for wilderness designation in ARRWA but not yet protected by Congress by restricting ORV use in these areas.  ORVs have a significant impact on wilderness values and wildlife, and ORV routes fragment wildlife habitat and entire ecosystems.

  • Request that BLM identify manageable off-road vehicle trailheads to ensure that ORV use does not impact the NCAs, wilderness areas, or other lands proposed for wilderness in ARRWA.

  • Ask BLM to close redundant, unnecessary, and ecologically damaging routes within the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs NCAs in order to protect the multitude of sensitive plant and animal species there, including the desert tortoise. 

  • Request that all vehicle routes designated within the NCAs serve the conservation-focused purpose and need of the NCAs and minimize impacts to resources as required by law.

  • Ask BLM to eliminate domestic livestock grazing in the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs NCAs.  Domestic livestock grazing is incompatible with the protection of the ecological values and sensitive species in the Mojave Desert.  Grazing threatens the health of the entire ecosystem.

  • Ask BLM to designate “recreation zones” on the public lands in Washington County.  Request that BLM designate areas proposed for wilderness in ARRWA as “primitive zones.”  This designation will restrict off-road vehicle travel, protect sensitive species, and ensure that these areas retain their wilderness character.  

  • Request that BLM designate Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMAs) on the public lands in Washington County.  Request that BLM designate backcountry hiking SRMAs in areas proposed for wilderness but not included in the Omnibus legislation.  

  • Ask BLM to conduct cultural resource surveys on all potential off-road vehicle routes on public lands in Washington County.  Motor vehicle access increases vandalism and looting of cultural resources.  

  • Ask BLM to manage Water and Short Canyons on the south side of Canaan Mountain for non-motorized use.  These canyons are proposed for wilderness in ARRWA and are not appropriate places for ORV use.

  • Ask BLM to close both of the routes that extend into the northeast corners of the Canaan Mountain wilderness and the Red Mountain wilderness areas because they are incompatible with the wilderness values of the areas.

  • Ask BLM to close, or limit to non-public administrative use only, the routes in the Designated Road area of the Beaver Dam Wash NCA in order to protect fragile habitat for the desert tortoise and other sensitive species.

  • Ask BLM to evaluate river segments for potential Wild and Scenic River status.  If you value and enjoy particular river segments, request that BLM find that these rivers have “outstandingly remarkable values” and are eligible and suitable as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
  • If you know of important species habitat, nominate that area as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.  Be sure to look at BLM’s ACEC Fact Sheet and comply with the submission requirements.


Submit your letter by July 19th via email to utsgrmp@blm.gov or mail to:

Planning Project Manager
Bureau of Land Management
St. George Field Office
345 East Riverside Drive
St. George, UT  84790

Please include in your comments the subject line “Resource Management Plan Amendment for the St. George Field Office, Utah, and associated Environmental Impact Statement.”