Wild Utah

Wild Utah


Devil in the Details: Planning for a Wild San Rafael Swell

January 19, 2022

What happens when new land protections and wilderness are designated? While every land management journey is different, one thing's for sure: the devil's in the details.⁠

The latest episode of Wild Utah looks at this process through 663,000 acres of land recently designated as wilderness through the 2019 John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, Congress passed the Emery County Public Land Management Act. Among other things, this act created 17 new wilderness areas, the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area, and three Wild and Scenic segments on the Green River. ⁠

As a result of these new designations, there are a lot of details to consider. And because the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must update its management plan for each of the affected areas-- which includes input from the public-- it's a process that will take well over a year to complete. ⁠

So, what's the importance of this process? What do we want to see happen in following through with these new wilderness protections? And when and how do we contact the BLM about all of this to make our voices heard? SUWA Wildlands Attorney Judi Brawer joins us in this highly informative episode that we can all look to as a guide.⁠


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Theme music is by Haley Noel Austin, with interlude music by Larry Pattis.

Dave Pacheco is the host of Wild Utah.

Post studio production and editing is by Laura Borichevsky.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.