San Rafael Swell, Utah                                                                                                                                       (Mike Painter)

 
July 13, 2024

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

I took last month off from writing, but there was still plenty going on with the various protection campaigns and coalitions that CalUWild is working with.

I hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July weekend and that you have been able to get away for a bit to enjoy some of our public lands—or if not, that you’ll be able to do so in the near future. There’s a lot going on right now in the country requiring the attention of engaged citizens, so if you start feeling overwhelmed with it all, that’s the perfect excuse to take a break.

There is not much to report regarding action in Congress, so the main focus for public lands continues to be on the Administration and the designation of national monuments. As we’ve mentioned in the past, there are quite a few proposals in the West—including California—and elsewhere. We’ll discuss three here in California, with reminders to sign online petitions for two more on California, as well as other monuments we’ve mentioned in the past. Next month we’ll include information on other proposals in the West and some historic sites in other parts of the country.

An extensive summer reading list “IN THE PRESS” can keep you busy, too. In the meantime, thank you for your support for wilderness and public lands.

And please, stay cool to the extent you can.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   San Rafael Swell
          Draft Travel Management Plan
          COMMENTS NEEDED
          DEADLINE: July 22
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN CALIFORNIA
2.   National Monument Updates
          a.   Berryessa Snow Mountain
          b.   Chuckwalla Proposal
          c.   Amargosa Basin
          d.   Sáttítla/Medicine Lake Highlands & Kw’tsán Proposals
                  (ACTION ITEMS)

IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
4.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

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IN UTAH
1.   San Rafael Swell
          Draft Travel Management Plan
          COMMENTS NEEDED
          DEADLINE: July 22
          (ACTION ITEM)

The San Rafael Swell in southeastern Utah is an amazing area of eroded canyons. The outer portions of it were designated as wilderness by the Emery County Public Land Management Act, part of the John Dingell public lands bill in 2019. That bill also established the San Rafael Swell National Recreation area in the interior of the Swell. For a map, click here. The Bureau of Land Management has prepared a Draft Travel Management Plan for the entire area, and it is open for public comment through July 22.

Now is the time to speak up for the benefits of quiet recreation, rather than increasing opportunities for motorized, off-highway uses. If you’ve ever been there, tell BLM about your experience on the landscape, especially if you were impacted by OHV use or damage.
The BLM has prepared a storymap with more information.
The information and talking points below come from our friends at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
The San Rafael Swell is a spectacular and beloved Utah landscape. It offers visitors a chance to experience colorful sunsets over towering rock spires and quiet nights underneath star-filled skies. Its winding canyons, redrock cliffs, and prominent buttes provide endless opportunities for hiking, camping, canyoneering, or simply spending time outside with family and friends. Even the names of its prominent landmarks—places like Little Grand Canyon, Temple Mountain, or Hidden Splendor—evoke the magic of this rugged landscape.

The BLM is currently accepting comments on a draft travel management plan and environmental assessment for the Swell, which analyzes the varying impacts of four different off-road vehicle travel networks. Only Alternative B complies with the BLM’s legal duties to minimize damage to natural and cultural resources and minimize conflicts between motorized and non-motorized visitors. Alternative B removes redundant routes; reduces routes that damage cultural sites, desert streams, or wildlife habitat; and minimizes the number of routes in wilderness-quality lands.

But the Bureau is under extraordinary pressure to expand damaging off-road vehicle routes across the Swell. Some proposals under consideration would significantly expand the number and mileage of ORV routes in the Swell, making it nearly impossible to escape the sight and sound of vehicles.

In your comments, please ask the BLM to:

Personalized comments are often the most effective. If you have spent time in the Swell, please highlight your experience and how you were impacted by off-road vehicle use or off-road vehicle damage.
If you would like assistance writing more specific comments, email nicole@suwa.org.

 
Comments may be submitted via BLM’s online comment webform (preferred)

or by email to blm_ut_pr_comments [at] blm [dot] gov

or by U.S. Mail to:

 
IN CALIFORNIA
2.   National Monument Updates
          a.   Berryessa Snow Mountain
                  (ACTION ITEM)

At the end of May, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation signed a co-stewardship agreement with the Bureau of Land Management regarding future management of recently-added Molok Luyuk / Condor Ridge to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California. The signing ceremony also served as a celebration of the addition of Molok Luyuk to the Monument. In addition to Tribal leaders, attending were BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Deputy Director Nada Culver, California Sen. Alex Padilla (D), Rep. Mike Thompson (D-5), California Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, and many of the conservation groups that were part of the coalition that had campaigned for the addition.

You may read BLM’s press release on the agreement here and an article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here (may be behind paywall).

The addition of Molok Luyuk, however, is just a start. The BLM and Forest Service are beginning the process of preparing a management plan for the monument, which is jointly administered by the two agencies and now the Tribes. Our coalition will be heavily involved, and we will keep you informed of opportunities for public participation. If you have ideas or suggestions, general or specific, that you think should be taken into consideration, please include them in an email to me.

          b.   Chuckwalla Proposal
                  (ACTION ITEM)

In mid-June, the Interior Department hosted a public meeting in Indio to take comments on the proposed establishment of Chuckwalla National Monument in the Mojave Desert. The public comments were reportedly overwhelmingly supportive of a designation. The meeting followed a visit in May by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who met with federal, Tribal, state, and local officials to discuss conservation and clean energy efforts in the area. These visits and meetings have always preceded designations, though there’s not a set timeline.

To learn more about the campaign visit www.protectchuckwalla.org, and if you haven’t already, please indicate support for the designation by signing the petition linked to on the page there.

          c.   Amargosa Basin

Though a public proposal has not been formally announced, the Friends of Amargosa Basin are developing a campaign to have a monument designated along the southeast edge of Death Valley National Park. They are hosting a “Summer Salon Series” with two Zoom webinars, this month and next:

You can register for one or both here.

We look forward to working with the Friends as the campaign progresses.

          d.   Sáttítla/Medicine Lake Highlands & Kw’tsán Proposals
                  (ACTION ITEMS)

You can read about each of these proposals on their websites, and if you haven’t already, please sign the petitions to the Administration requesting that they be designated, linked to from the pages.

 
IN THE WEST
3.   Other Monument Petitions
          (ACTION ITEM)

In our March Update<https://www.caluwild.org/archives/6048>, we provided brief descriptions of five other national monument proposals around the West, along with links to petitions of support. If you haven’t already, please visit the websites below. Follow the appropriate links to their petitions and sign them. They are vital indicators of public support, without which the Administration is unlikely to move forward.

Thank you!

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
4.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

If a link is broken or otherwise inaccessible, please send me an email, and I’ll fix it or send you a PDF copy. Gift links are temporary links from some websites, allowing non-subscribers to view articles for free for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

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