The Battle for the Utah Wilderness

You own this:

Do you want it to look like this?

This incomparable land, this uncommon beauty, this bedrock of American experience is on the verge of violation. Congress has put Utah at the heart of its inquisition into wilderness and our public lands. The last great, unspoiled region of wildlands in the lower 48 states is on the block, the prize in what is shaping up to be the biggest debate over wilderness and our public lands in this Congress.

Legislation introduced by the Utah Congressional delegation--H.R.1745 and S.884--would take the 22 million acres of public land in Utah and sacrifice 20.2 million acres to be drilled, mined, dammed, and cleared. Even the remaining 1.8 million acres that would be called wilderness under this legislation could be subjected to off-road vehicles, a gas pipeline, new dams, roads and reservoirs, and communications towers.

Further, H.R.1745 and S.884 would impose "hard release" language on lands not currently designated as wilderness. This "hard release" would hogtie future generations by preventing the U.S. Interior Department from protecting these lands for possible wilderness status in years to come; it's a restriction that has never before been imposed on any wilderness bill. This ploy, if successful, will undermine the landmark Wilderness Act of 1964, an honored law that has provided the foundation for our nation's entire wilderness system.

Thousands of Utah citizens oppose this giveaway. At hearings held across the state and on Capitol Hill, through countless petitions, phone calls and letters, they have voiced their passionate objection to the sacrifice of southern Utah. Even the Salt Lake Tribune called the delegation's proposal "a disappointment" that "has simply not offered enough protection for Utah's wild land."

We have another choice: the Citizens Proposal for Redrock Wilderness. H.R.1500, America's Redrock Wilderness Act sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, offers a balanced, reasonable plan for conserving America's natural heritage while providing for solid economic opportunity. While H.R.1500 would designate 5.7 million acres of southern Utah as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, it still makes 16.3 million acres available for development. That's almost three times more land to exploit than conserve. Shouldn't that be enough?

The Citizens Proposal will protect 5.7 million acres of unparalleled redrock wilderness, a world-renowned region of slickrock canyons, stunning cliffs, splendid mountains and startling rock formations that may be found only in southern Utah--but belong to all Americans.

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Learn More

• Compare the Citizens Proposal for Redrock Wilderness (H.R.1500) with the Utah Congressional delegation bills (H.R.1745 and S.884).
  

• Read the letter from the Executive Director of SUWA.
  

• See the SUWA pictorial Utah's Redrock Wilderness: A National Treasure Threatened.
  

• Read the SUWA publication What Is Wilderness?
  

• Find out what you can do to help protect the Utah Wilderness.

Content © 1995 Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) Reprinted by permission.