#protectwildutah

[joshschutz]

Current Status. 

[albertc]

Throwback to a moment of wonder in Wild Utah. Tomorrow 11/30 is the last day to submit your comments on the BLM draft land management plan for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. If you care about keeping public lands in public hands, let 'em know. If you believe we should be preserving the priceless antiquities of this land for human history and the cultures and traditions of the Native American tribal nations who have cared for these sacred places longer than we can even imagine, let 'em know. If you believe the incredible wildness of these lands is manifested not only visually, but spiritually, let 'em know. These lands cannot speak for themselves, but you and I can use our collective voice to prevent losing them to corporate greed and their federal enablers. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/2KGNQsN and here: p2a.co/nhNRupe #protectwildutah #savegrandstaircase (at Grand Staircase-Escalante) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqyoCUOAZp6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=r5h2x3qdb7ve

[albertc]

Happy National Bison Day, cheers to our national mammal. Throwback to a moment during a race couple years back with this majestic creature on Antelope Island in Utah. Besides the sweeping views and namesake pronghorn and other wildlife, what really makes this place so special is the roaming bison herd, kings of this castle, an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, a natural moat. #aintnothingbutmammals #utahisrad #protectwildutah (at Antelope Island State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpuZmA-AT8x/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11bm0zeq1f8ed

[kerensky97]

. . . . . #CapitolReefNP #FruitaBarn #CohabTrail #ProtectWildUtah #KeepItPublic #publiclands #RecreationGov #MyPublicLands #MyPublicLandsRoadtrip #ShareTheExperience #The59Parks #FindYourPark #GoParks #fypyes #MightyFive #nps #nationalparks #americasbestidea #nationalparkfoundation (at Capitol Reef National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpiStjyB361/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8spl021ktbhh

[blmwild]

Explore the Other Colors of Southern Utah in the Needle Range

Location: The Needle Range consists of two mountain ranges: the Mountain Home Range in the north and the Indian Peak Range in the south. These mountains are surrounded by the Escalante Desert to the south, Hamlin Valley to the west, Pine Valley to the east, and to the north is Snake Valley - also known as Antelope Valley. These mountains run in a north to south direction for about forty miles. Sulphur Spring and Vance Spring mark the halfway point.

Fun Facts: The range was named for its sharp and jagged appearance, specifically the eastern Needle Peaks. Bristlecone pines, the oldest living things on Earth, can be found at 8,000 to over 11,000 feet elevation on many ranges, especially where the soil is alkaline due to limestones. Notch Peak and Swasey Peak are great places to find Bristlecone pines.

Butch Cassidy (originally Bob Leroy) was born in Beaver, Utah. His spirit still lies in the West Desert west of Cedar City.

Wildlife: Known for mule deer, pronghorn, and wild horses. The Sulphur Herd of Spanish Horses is the most well known group in the range. This range is a mule deer and elk migration corridor, as well as having habitat for coyote, cougar, elk, northern harrier, ferruginous hawk, redtail hawk, swainson’s hawk, northern goshawk, Cooper’s hawk, American kestrel, burrowing owl, great-horned owl, short-eared owl, great horned owl, and prairie falcon.

The Indian Peaks also contain habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse. Pine Valley contains breeding, nesting, winter and brood-rearing habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse, and Utah Prairie Dog are present.

Threats: Roads, utility corridors, excessive ATV use, mining claims, vegetation treatments such as bullhogging and chaining.

How to Explore Mountain Home Range:

Needle Benchmark (9,480') is the highest point in the Mountain Home Range. It is located in the central part of the range. A road goes south toward the peak, east of Mountain Home Pass. The recommended route comes in from the north. Another way is from the east side since a dirt road runs along that side of the range. Just driving to the peak can be an adventure. Needle Benchmark is also known as Needle Peak, The Needle, or simply the Mountain Home Range HP.

Mountain Home Pass Peak (8,860') is located at the northern part of the range. You can get to the mountain by driving to Halfway Summit on Highway 21 and then driving west to Mountain Home Pass. This is where you can hike up the south ridge of the peak.

The Needles (7,749') are a series of rugged peaks located on the eastern part of the range. There is a dirt road that runs along the entire west side of the Needles. This is where you can hike to them. They could also be reached from the west.

How to Explore Indian Peaks:

The east side of the range is accessed from Pine Valley and the west side is accessed from Hamlin Valley. The southern end of the range meets with the southern end of the Wah Wah Mountains. This is where the North Peaks are located and the highest is called North Peaks Highpoint.

Indian Peak  (9,790') is the highest in the Indian Peak Range and the entire Needle Range. The local Native Americans called the peak, "Quich-u-ant" which means Spirit Mountain. It's a prominent mountain that can be seen from many miles away. You can get close to the peak from the many dirt roads in the area. The recommended route to Indian Peak is from the north. There are cliffs along the ridge where you will have to navigate around.

North Twin Peak (9,576') can be approached from Merrils Camp Spring is to the northwest, Atchison Creek is to the southwest, Sheep Creek is to the southeast, and Cottonwood Creek is to the northeast. Holt Bluebell Peak, Peak 9,074, and several other peaks above 9,000 feet are located to the north.

Bob Leroy Peaks (8,275') The Bob Leroy Peaks are northwest of Steamboat Mountain (in Modena Canyon Wildlands highlight). There is Bob Leroy Peak North, 8,275 feet, and Bob Leroy Peak South, 8,232 feet. Two other prominent peaks are Peak 8,461 to the southwest and Peak 8,388 to the southeast. There is also Bob Leroy Spring and Bob Leroy Pass in the area. You can hike to both peaks from the pass. These peaks were named after Butch Cassidy whose real name was Robert Leroy Parker. He was from Beaver, Utah.

Photo captions, in order: Ray Bloxham/SUWA, Kelsey Johnson, Kelsey Johnson, Ray Bloxham/SUWA.

[blmwild]

If you have ever driven through Cedar City, Utah, stopped for gas at the Maverick, stayed at a local hotel, or grabbed a coffee at the local Grind you most likely have seen framed photographs of the iconic Kanarraville Falls. The famous canyon is a classic summertime hike for families all over southern Utah and is known for its majestic red rock slot canyons and cold waterfalls.  

While Kanarraville Falls has been plastered in magazines hoping for increased tourism, its popularity has contributed to its increasing degradation. Unfortunately Kanarraville Falls has seen so much use that it no longer retains the character it once had; new trails fill the canyon corridor, and the heavy trace of human use is difficult not to notice. Its less well-known sister, Spring Creek Canyon exemplifies how important it is to manage these special places for their wilderness qualities. Spring Creek Canyon is currently managed in conjunction with Kanarraville Falls by the Bureau of Land Management as a Wilderness Study Area - an area that contains undeveloped land and possesses wilderness quality; however, there are still portions of these canyons that are unprotected. Now is the time for the BLM to recognize these canyons’ importance for local and regional wildlife as well as responsible human enjoyment.

Spring Creek Canyon highlights the importance of riparian corridors in southern Utah. The canyon contains important habitat areas for Mexican spotted owl and many raptors or birds of prey. What makes this canyon and the surrounding Hurricane Cliffs so special is its geographic location at the confluence of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin transition area, giving rise to a unique collection of plant species. Spring Creek Canyon provides winter refugia for mountain lion and riparian corridors for birds, aquatic insects, and sensitive fish such as the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.

Spring Creek Canyon is a favorite place close to Cedar City to run and scramble. An ambitious explorer can even hike from Spring Creek Canyon into Zion National Park directly south. This signifies the importance of Spring Creek Canyon as a critical public lands linkage between Zion National Park and the Markagunt Plateau region. This public lands linkage is an integral piece of the wildlife megalinkage that extends from the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone. On the continental scale, the Grand Canyon ecoregion and the Utah High Plateaus are both considered hot spots for threatened and endemic species and a critical linkage for goshawks and wolves between habitat in Arizona and Utah, and the northern Rockies.

Tell the BLM that you care about Spring Creek Canyon & other wildlands in southwestern Utah!

Photos copyright Kristen Caldon.

[blmwild]

Cedar City Wildlands: The Other Colors of Southern Utah

Southern Utah is even more than just a redrock wonderland. We invite you to explore the other colors you can find in southwestern Utah’s Cedar City region, and then take action to protect these wild places!

Spring Creek Canyon (top photo; credit Kristen Caldon)

Spring Creek Canyon serves as a critical public lands linkage between Zion National Park and the Markagunt Plateau. There are two streams with the potential for becoming Wild and Scenic rivers, including Kanarra Creek Wild East Section and State Section.

The canyon hosts habitat for Mexican spotted owl, numerous raptors, and wildlife unique to the Colorado Plateau/Great Basin transition area. It also holds winter mountain lion habitat and refugia and riparian corridors, one of which contains a relic population of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout- a BLM and Utah sensitive species.

Mineral Mountains (second photo; credit Kristen Caldon)

The Mineral Mountains are a point of interest and can be easily seen from I-15 in western Utah. The Mineral Mountains were named for their abundance of minerals which includes smoky quartz and feldspar. Mule deer, coyote, black-tailed jack rabbit, cougar, and birds of prey are common, and the valleys surrounding the Mineral Mountains contain priority habitat for Greater Sage Grouse.

Wah Wah Mountains (third photo; credit Ray Bloxham/SUWA)

The Wah Wah Mountains, San Francisco Mountains, and Mountain Home Range run from north to south and are spread apart by expansive valleys that host breeding, nesting, and winter-rearing habitat for Greater Sage Grouse, and for the Utah Prairie dog. These ranges are accessible from Highway 21, just west of Milford, Utah.

The Wah Wah Mountains run in a north to south direction for fifty-five miles. It’s a large area and there are many peaks. The Wah Wah Mountains are located above Pine Valley to the west and Wah Wah Valley to the east. The range is divided into northern and southern sections by Highway 21 which is paved and travels from the cities of Milford to Garrison and eventually to Baker, Nevada. The First Nation residents of the area named the range after Wah Wah Springs, on the eastern slope of the range. It is reported that Wah Wah means “Good Clear Water”. Supposedly, the sounds of water could be heard 30 miles away in Escalante Valley. Bristlecone pines, the oldest living things on Earth, can be found at 8,000 to over 11,000 feet elevation on many ranges, especially where the soil is alkaline due to limestones.

San Francisco Mountains (fourth photo; credit Ray Bloxham/SUWA)

The San Francisco Mountain range is surrounded by the Escalante Desert and Wah Wah Valley to the west. This range along with the other ranges in the southern West Desert (Wah Wahs, Mountain Home, and Needle Range) provide high-quality habitat for mule deer, elk, coyote, cougar, golden eagles, northern harrier, ferruginous hawk, redtail hawk, Swainson’ hawk, northern goshawk, Cooper’s hawk, American kestrel, burrowing owl, great-horned owl, short-eared owl, great horned owl, and prairie falcon.

Anglo History: the range was named after the San Francisco Mining District. After silver ore was discovered in the mountains the miners began to flock to the area. By 1885, silver, gold, lead, copper, and zinc were being transported from Frisco across the region. Frisco was known to be one of the wildest and most dangerous towns in the West Desert. There were over twenty saloons, gambling halls, and gun fights and killings were common. Currently, you can visit the ghost town of Frisco. There are many old buildings and charcoal kilns. The kilns are now part of the National Register of Historic Places.

Needle Range (fifth photo; credit Ray Bloxham/SUWA)

The Needle Range consists of two mountain ranges, the Mountain Home Range in the north and the Indian Peak Range in the south. These mountains are surrounded by the Escalante Desert to the south, Hamlin Valley to the west, Pine Valley to the east, and to the north is Snake Valley- also known as Antelope Valley. These mountains run in a north to south direction for about forty miles.

The range was named for its sharp and jagged appearance, specifically the eastern Needle Peaks. Bristlecone pines, the oldest living things on Earth, can be found at 8,000 to over 11,000 feet elevation on many ranges, especially where the soil is alkaline due to limestones. The range is known for mule deer, pronghorn, and wild horses. The Sulphur Herd of Spanish Horses is the most well known group in the range. This range is a mule deer and elk migration corridor, as well as having habitat for coyote, cougar, elk, northern harrier, ferruginous hawk, redtail hawk, swainson’ hawk, northern goshawk, Cooper’s hawk, American kestrel, burrowing owl, great-horned owl, short-eared owl, great horned owl, and prairie falcon.

–The Indian Peaks contain habitat for Greater Sage Grouse

–Pine Valley contains breeding, nesting, winter and brood-rearing habitat for Greater Sage Grouse, and Utah Prairie Dog are present.

Modena Canyon Wildlands (sixth photo; credit Ray Bloxham/SUWA

Modena Canyon Wildlands include Steamboat Mountain, North Peaks, Paradise Mountains, and Haystack Mountain. These lands contain important habitat and wildlife corridors for mule deer, elk, coyote, cougar, golden eagles, northern harrier, ferruginous hawk, redtail hawk, Swainson’ hawk, northern goshawk, Cooper’s hawk, American kestrel, burrowing owl, great-horned owl, short-eared owl, great horned owl, and prairie falcon.

Fun Fact: the Bob Leroy Peaks northwest of Steamboat Mountain were named after Butch Cassidy, whose real name was Robert Leroy Parker. He was from Beaver, Utah!

These are our public lands, and therefore we all have a say in how they are managed. Take action today to help ensure that these BLM Wild places stay wild!