America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA)
ARRWA’s goal is to permanently protect the pristine red rock country of Utah. Places such as Cedar Mesa and the Canyons of the Escalante need to be, once and for all, guaranteed protection from mining, drilling, overuse, and pollution. After being introduced in 1989, ARRWA wasn’t introduced to the Senate until 1997 and has continued to do so year after year. More than 10 years later, in 2008, ARRWA received its first stand-alone hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee. The bill is supported by over 200 national and regional conservation organizations belonging to the Utah Wilderness Coalition.
Additional resources: SUWA Blog Post of ARRWA
ARRWA’s First Stand Alone Hearing in Congress
Robert Redford’s Letter in Support of ARRWA
Trump Administration Further Weakens the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
The Trump Administration had been actively attacking to weaken NEPA. The BLM is now able to push projects faster and with less scrutiny and scientific analysis. This is currently especially destructive to the San Rafael Swell due to a massive increase in roads and access points.
Find out more about the latest issues for Utah’s public lands here.
San Rafael Swell Travel Plan 2008 v. 2020
BLM is moving to accelerate harmful vegetation removal on public lands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a series of overlapping initiatives to expedite the removal of native forests and sagebrush shrublands across the Intermountain West. If approved, these proposals will enable the BLM to conduct large and controversial vegetation removal projects over millions of acres of public lands without further public engagement or scientific review. The impacts to public wildlands, including native plants and animals such as the sage grouse, will be staggering.
SUWA has posted a web page with a compelling video and a summary of the documented impacts of these clearing practices, including chaining and bull mastication. To learn more about the scientific analysis behind these conclusions, please read this literature review.
To help send a clear message to the BLM that these practices are harmful to the ecology and sustainability of wilderness quality lands in the West, please contact your Member of Congress.