About the Utah Wilderness Coalition: History of America's Redrock Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964
The Wilderness Act of 1964 passed with BI-partisan support after 10 years of debate. Two major items emerge; the Criteria for qualifying wilderness are established and the Process how to designate wilderness is established.
Criteria
In order to qualify as wilderness, certain criteria must be met (definitions of wilderness): Potential wilderness areas must be on federally owned, public land. An area must be primarily Roadless. An area must be at least 5,000 acres in size. An area must be "primarily affected by the forces of nature, with the evidence of human activity substantially unnoticeable" where "mankind is a visitor who does not remain." Wilderness areas must offer outstanding opportunities either for solitude or for primitive recreation. These areas allow hunting, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, and fishing.
Process
The 1964 Wilderness Act also set up a three step process in which to officially designate new wilderness areas. First, the applicable federal agency (National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Fish & Wildlife Service) must undertake an "inventory" (a study) of their holdings, on a state by state basis, to determine how many acres meet the wilderness criteria. The lands studied in this inventory are called Wilderness Study Areas (WSA's). The second step in the process is for the agency to make a "recommendation" based on the study. This recommendation is the official agency position and is the basis for the third step in the process, legislation. The U.S. Congress considers legislation, based somewhat but not exclusively, on these recommendations. This legislation must pass through the U.S. Congress and be signed by the President in order to become law. During this stage, acreage can be added or deleted, boundaries are established, and specific management language is determined. An important note is that citizens can also undertake an inventory of federal lands and make their own recommendations for wilderness in their state.
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BLM Inventory Process in Utah — The Heart of the Controversy
BLM Inventory Process
Traditionally, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was regarded as having responsibility over primarily western desert "wastelands" and not the picturesque high mountain areas conceptually considered containing "wilderness" values. This changed with the passage of a law in 1976 called the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). FLPMA, among other things, required that the BLM follow the guidelines set forth in the Wilderness Act, undertaking inventories and making wilderness recommendations, just like the other agencies. The BLM was given 15 years to complete a study for each state.
Utah's Size
Utah is a big state, over 54 million acres in size. 23 million acres in Utah are managed by the BLM; that's 42.4% of the total land base.
Reagan & Watt Hasten Inventory
With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, federal land conservation efforts halted almost completely, and the administration of public lands became very pro-development. Reagan was big industry's best friend. Reagan appointed James Watt as Secretary of the Interior, the position with oversight of all BLM activities. Watt was notoriously anti-federal, anti-environment, asserting the environmental movement was to blame for western land use problems. Watt seized the opportunity and urged BLM to complete their inventories while the Administration was friendly, and Utah BLM happily complied.
Utah BLM Inventory Inadequate
Utah BLM typified Watt politics. Under Watt's direction, the inventory resembled more a commercial and industrial zoning document than efforts to preserve remaining wild areas. With the President's backing, BLM excluded entire regions due to the potential development of extractable resources.
Citizens Concerns Proven in Court
Political haste at the expense of scientific accuracy allowed BLM to inventory by mere aerial surveys, and by just looking at maps in most cases. Their initial inventory documented less than 1 million acres, upon which Utah environmentalists responded with appeals to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), the internal legal arm of Interior Department. Twice, the IBLA found environmentalists correct in court, claiming Utah BLM inventory decisions had been in error on 90% of the lands under appeal. These appeals ultimately led BLM to declare 3.2 million acres as Wilderness Study Areas. This 3.2 million-acre figure is important because as Wilderness Study Areas, the land is to be protected as if they are actual Wilderness until the Congress makes a final decision. That decision is still yet to be made.
Utah Politicians Reject BLM Recommendation
Although 3.2 million acres of WSA's are protected now, the final Utah BLM recommendation for wilderness came out to only 1.9 million acres. That is the final figure they sent on to Congress, and has until only recently been changed to reflect something closer to reality. The next step in the process required the U.S. Congress to act on this 1.9 million-acre recommendation. Utah's politicians responded with a firm "No." They felt that 1.9 million acres was too much.
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Environmentalists in Utah Organize
It was unconvincing to merely criticize BLM, without having accurate on the ground information. We realized we had to undertake the massive study that the BLM never took the time to do.
Utah Wilderness Coalition Formed
Accomplishing this was beyond the capabilities of any one organization in Utah at the time. Subsequently, a coalition of groups was formed in 1985 called the Utah Wilderness Coalition, consisting of the Utah Chapter Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Audubon Society among others.
Wilderness At The Edge, Citizens' Proposal Unveiled
Six years later the on-the-ground study was completed with publication of Wilderness At The Edge, a 400 page compilation of maps, written biological and archaeological analysis. That original citizen-based study recommended 5.7 million acres to be designated wilderness. It was the most accurate information on the ground at that point.
Citizens’ Proposal Introduced in U.S. Congress
In 1989, Rep. Wayne Owens from Salt Lake City introduced the 5.7 million-acre Citizens’ Proposal as legislation in the U.S. Congress. Today it is titled America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. Since 1992, Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York has sponsored this legislation in the U.S. House. In 1997, Richard Durbin of Illinois sponsored the bill for the first time in the U.S. Senate. It has demonstrated broad nationwide support, but of course, has met with extreme opposition from most of the Utah delegation. The bill has not passed primarily because it has not enjoyed support from Utah's elected officials.
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1994 Elections Endanger Utah Wilderness
Utah Politicians Grasp Opportunity to Gut Utah Wilderness Preservation Effort
Rep. Hansen became the new chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. Hansen's committee is significant in regards to the wilderness debate because all such legislation originates from his committee. With the Chair, Hansen determines which bills get heard and when.
Public Hearings Process Boondoggle
Soon after the elections, these Utah politicians announced their intention to offer a third proposal as an alternative wilderness bill, which they claimed, will "solve the wilderness problem in Utah once and for all." To create this new bill, public hearings were announced and Utahns were invited to provide input in shaping the proposal. Utahns did participate, and 70% of all comments; signatures gathered, letters received, speeches made, etc. favored the citizens proposal. The politicians cried foul because "extremists" skewed the figure in their favor by participating and therefore invalidated the process. So they introduced their new bill which would have designated just 1.8 million acres as Wilderness Areas. Their bill was called the Utah Public Lands Management Act.
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The Utah Public Lands Management Act: Major Threat to Utah’s Remaining Wild Places
The legislation supported by Utah politicians had four major problems: These problem areas basically exhibit their point of view to this day.
No Basis for Acreage
Remember, the Utah politicians never undertook anything resembling an on the ground study. They based their figure on public opinion only...and promptly ignored that too. No study was ever conducted.
A Net-Loss, a Rollback of Wilderness in Utah
Simply looking at the numbers shows that by designating 1.8 million acres only, we actually lose the current protection on 1.4 million acres of Wilderness Study Areas. We have 3.2 million acres currently protected as if they are actual wilderness. This bill was a rollback of existing protection.
Hard Release Language
The Utah Public Management Act contained a provision stating that "lands not designated wilderness by this act" can never be considered again. This effectively prevents any future consideration for adding more wilderness later if future generations want to. This hard-release policy basically ties the hands of our grandchildren, and it has never passed Congress before because it was deemed repugnant.
Disclaimers Allowing Development Inside Wilderness Areas
The Utah politicians actually wrote into this bill provisions allowing for development projects within boundaries of the 1.8 million acres of new wilderness areas! Never before has the Congress passed a wilderness bill containing provisions to allow for future development of roads, pipelines, dams, radio towers...within wilderness boundaries. This bill would have set a horrible precedent allowing such anti-wilderness provisions in future wilderness proposals for other states.
Summary
This horrible bill was thankfully defeated in both the House and Senate by forward thinking politicians of both parties.
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Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
As a direct result of the Utah delegation’s attack on the very concept of wilderness, and seeing the imminent danger of development these wild places faced (like the Andalex coal mine on the remote Kaiparowits Plateau), in September of 1996 President Clinton designated 1.9 million acres of BLM land in south-central Utah as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Using the authority given to Presidents under the Antiquities Act, the President unilaterally protected these lands, to a lesser degree than actual wilderness designation, and to the consternation of the state and delegation.
Bottom line regarding the Monument is that Wilderness Areas can be designated within National Monuments, and we’ve identified 1.6 million acres of the Monument in the Citizen’s Proposal that meet the criteria, and as such are reflected in America’s Redrock Wilderness Act.
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BLM Conducts Review "Hansen Reinventory"
In 1996, during the debate over the delegation’s bad bill, Rep. Jim Hansen, the chair of the House Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, challenged then Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt to prove his assertion there were more than 5 million acres of qualifying wilderness on BLM lands in Utah. Babbitt took up the challenge and sent his independent BLM staffers into the field. After being sued by the state to stop the review, BLM finally was allowed by federal court to continue.
The results, released in February of 1999 indicate the citizen’s supporting big wilderness designation in Utah have been right all along. BLM found 5.8 million acres that meet wilderness criteria! The Review, although affirming our position, still has its flaws.
A main flaw is that BLM did not review much beyond our original proposal, so they’ve still got about 3 million acres to look at. Also, it has yet to be determined how BLM will manage these newly identified lands.
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Citizens Conduct Re-evaluation of Proposal
Another important event in this now near fifteen-year-old controversy has been a Citizen’s Re-inventory conducted by the Utah Wilderness Coalition and all its member organizations. We undertook our re-evaluation to:
- remove from our previous proposal areas that had lost their wilderness character since the original proposal,
- compile the most credible, thorough, on-the-ground documentation to date on the issue, and
- add areas that were omitted the first time, reflecting more completely the biological and geographical diversity Utah possesses.
After two and a half years of analysis, the Citizen’s Proposal now reflects that new research and the proposal has identified over 9 million acres of BLM land in Utah that qualify. Most of the new acreage is found in the Great Basin region of western Utah.
Our now-revised proposal is reflected in America’s Redrock Wilderness Act, a bill pending before the US Congress. We need you to contact your Representative and Senator to encourage their support for this most environmentally responsible measure.
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Utah Delegation Attack on Wilderness Continues
Throughout the course of this debate, the Utah delegation has tried to undermine environmental protection of your wild public lands in Utah. Some of the highlights include:
- Attaching an unrelated "rider" onto the Flood Relief Bill, which was intended to give assistance to Midwest flood victims in the spring of 1997. Their "Pave The Parks" rider would have legislatively re-defined what constitutes a "road" or "highway" across public lands. If their measure would have passed, cattle trails almost any tire tracks would have qualified as "highways" thus thwarting efforts by conservationists to designate wilderness on most BLM lands. This absurd rationale was rejected by the American people and ultimately, by the Congress, as an attack on America’s public lands.
- Also, in the fall of 1998, the Utah delegation moved to enact a bill for just 1 of the 11 regions of wilderness in the state, the San Rafael Swell. Much like their horrible bill two years earlier, this bill would have eliminated many currently protected Wilderness Study Areas and would have not solved the long contentious debate statewide.
- And in 1999 Rep. Jim Hansen introduced a bill for the western region of Utah. The Utah National Parks and Public Lands Wilderness Act, H.R. 3035 attempted to undermine the 1964 Wilderness Act by:
- Protecting less than 40% of Utah’s Great Basin/Mojave Desert regions as wilderness
- Providing no protection for water rights necessary for rare streams and wetlands
- Allowing the Air Force unprecedented special rights to use wilderness areas, including motorized access to install equipment
- Shutting down the BLM efforts to designate additional WSA’s in the region
- Rolling back existing protection for WSA designations
- And finally, 2000 saw Rep. Chris Cannon introduce yet another stinker of a bill for the San Rafael Swell region of Utah. Billed as a common sense approach to conservation this bill in fact designated zero wilderness and continued to let off-road vehicles run rampant in the Swell. On June 7th of 2000 the House voted overwhelmingly to expand the proposed conservation area to protect all the Swell’s wilderness. However, rather than allow Congress to pass the improved version of the bill, the bill’s sponsors yanked it from the floor.
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The Future
The future of Utah wilderness is a good one. We are grateful for all the work that activists have done for canyon country. We still have a long way to go but with your help we can pass a wilderness bill in Utah that reflects the rich diversity of the landscape.
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