GLEN CANYON INSTITUTE
**ACTION ALERT**
February 1, 2008

BLM Plan Promotes Development Next to Glen Canyon NRA!
***TAKE ACTION NOW!!!***

Glen Canyon Institute urges you to take a few minutes to comment on the Monticello Draft Resource Management Plan (DRMP). The alert below briefly describes the plan's many serious problems and offers a sample comment letter that you can use. Please send your comments now, before the February 8, 2008 deadline!

ASSAULT ON UTAH WILDLANDS

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its Monticello Draft Resource Management Plan (DRMP) in November 2007. The planning area covers 1.8 million acres of lands administered by the Monticello Field Office in southeastern Utah. This plan will have a major impact, not only on a vast expanse of BLM lands, but also on the adjacent Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA), Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument, as well as the Colorado River watershed.

Put simply, the BLM's Preferred Alternative, Alternative C, would turn this wild, spectacular landscape into an industrial zone. It is a throwback to the short-sighted exploitation of the past rather than the sustainable vision we need for the future. Oil and gas drilling, mining, off- road vehicles (ORVs), and other destructive uses would dominate the region, while wilderness, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and cultural values would receive little protection. The BLM is poised to put this disastrous plan into action unless the public speaks out strongly against it now!

A PLAN FOR AN INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE

The BLM chose the unacceptable Alternative C as the "Preferred Alternative" for the Monticello DRMP, instead of the far better Alternative E. Although Alternative E has significant shortcomings, it provides the most appropriate foundation for building a Final Resource Management Plan (FRMP) that meets the ecological, cultural, recreational, and economic needs of the American people. Here are some of the worst aspects of Alternative C. This alternative:

  • Allows off-road vehicles to crisscross most of the area on 1,947 miles of motorized routes - enough, if laid out in a straight line, to reach from Salt Lake City to New York City.
  • Designates dozens of miles of ORV routes inside Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), before the Congress has even had a chance to vote to protect them under America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
  • Provides no special protection for the 582,360 acres of "non-WSAs with wilderness characteristics" - 29 areas that qualify for designation as wilderness under America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
  • Recommends just 18.4 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers, even though the BLM found 92.4 miles of river suitable for designation.
  • Designates just 3 small tracts, totaling 76,764 acres, as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) - a classification to protect important historic, cultural, scenic, fish and wildlife, and other values - even though the BLM identified 12 areas, encompassing 521,141 acres, that qualify.
  • Opens up most of the landscape to destructive oil, gas, and mineral extraction, including lands next to Glen Canyon NRA, other national park areas, and qualified wilderness areas.
  • Allows livestock grazing virtually everywhere, even though it degrades soils, vegetation, wildlife habitat, air and water quality, and recreational values, and is heavily subsidized by the public.
  • Totally ignores the impacts of global climate change on precipitation, temperature, wildlife habitat, and other environmental factors, as well as the potential of industrial activities to contribute to climate change.
  • Was issued with only a 90-day public comment period - far too little time for most citizens to review and respond adequately to the hundreds of pages of complex data, charts, maps, and reports.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Glen Canyon Institute urges you to send your comments on the Monticello Draft Resource Management Plan. You can use the sample letter below or write your own letter. If possible, use personal examples from your experiences visiting the Monticello planning area. Act now - all comments must be received by February 8, 2008!

You can submit your comments:

  • by email to BLM at: ut_monticello_rmp_comments@blm.gov - OR -
  • by mail to: Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office RMP Comments, P.O. Box 7, Monticello, Utah 84535 or

To learn more about the draft plan and what you can do, visit:

SAMPLE COMMENT LETTER

Bureau of Land Management
Monticello Field Office RMP Comments
P.O. Box 7
Monticello, Utah 84535

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to comment on the Monticello Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (DRMP). I strongly oppose Alternative C, the "Preferred Alternative." I urge the BLM to reject this alternative and to use Alternative E as the basis for developing a more balanced and sustainable Final Resource Management Plan (FRMP).

[*NOTE: IF YOU HAVE VISITED, OR HAVE OTHER PERSONAL INSIGHTS REGARDING THE MONTICELLO PLANNING AREA, THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO WRITE ABOUT IT.]

The following is a list of some of the most serious flaws in the DRMP and actions the BLM needs to take to correct them in the FRMP.

  • The DRMP would allow off-road vehicles (ORVs) to use routes on portions of identified Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). The FRMP must ban ORVs from all WSAs until the Congress has had a chance to decide on their designation in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
  • Under the DRMP, ORVs would be able to crisscross most of the area on 1,947 miles of motorized routes. The FRMP must greatly reduce ORV routes, including closing all of them in and next to special areas such as "non-WSAs with wilderness characteristics," suitable Wild and Scenic River segments, nominated and eligible ACECs, and lands next to national park areas.
  • The DRMP provides no protection for the 29 "non-WSAs with wilderness characteristics" in the planning area. The FRMP should provide the same protection for these areas that it gives to WSAs, until the Congress has had a chance to decide on their designation in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
  • Only 18.4 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers are recommended in the DRMP. The FRMP needs to recommend Wild and Scenic River designation for all 92.4 miles of river that were found to be suitable by the BLM.
  • Although the BLM found 12 areas, totaling 521,141 acres, to be eligible for Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) status, the DRMP only designates 3 small areas. The FRMP should designate all 12 areas as ACECs to protect their important historic, cultural, scenic, fish and wildlife, and other values.
  • The DRMP opens most of the planning area to destructive oil, gas, and mineral extraction. The FRMP needs to prohibit these activities in and next to WSAs and other special areas such as "non-WSAs with wilderness characteristics," suitable Wild and Scenic River segments, nominated and eligible ACECs, and lands next to national park areas.
  • Livestock grazing would be allowed almost everywhere under the DRMP, even though it degrades soils, vegetation, wildlife habitat, air and water quality, and recreational values, and is subsidized by the public. The FRMP should phase out grazing in WSAs and other special areas such as "non- WSAs with wilderness characteristics," suitable Wild and Scenic River segments, nominated and eligible ACECs, and lands next to national park areas.
  • Global climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the world, yet the DRMP completely ignores climate change. The FRMP needs to thoroughly analyze the impacts of climate change on the planning area and the potential impacts of proposed activities on climate change.
  • The BLM has provided far too little time for the public to review and comment on the massive and detailed Monticello DRMP. The BLM must extend the comment period so more citizens have the opportunity to learn about and provide input on this important management plan.

Again, I urge the BLM to reject the inadequate Alternative C as the Monticello DRMP's Preferred Alternative, and to develop a truly balanced alternative that is based on the Alternative E.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Please let me know about any future information, actions, or opportunities to comment on the Monticello RMP.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]