Grand Staircase-Escalante Comment Deadline Coming Up

 by Tim Peterson, Utah Wildlands Director

Update: The public comment period closed on April 13, 2018. Read the Grand Canyon Trust's comments ›

Since President Trump signed a proclamation attempting to slash Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by 47 percent, dividing it into three smaller units, many of you have been asking what you can do to help defend the monument. Well, now’s your chance. 

With what is likely to be a lengthy court battle over the lawfulness of Trump’s action just gearing up, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is nevertheless moving ahead to create resource management plans for the reduced Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyons units and for federal lands previously included in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that are excluded from the boundaries by Trump’s proclamation.

Public comments are due April 13, 2018. 

How do I comment?

• Submit your comment directly to the BLM via its online form › (The eplanning site sometimes goes down. If you don't get through right away, please take a break and try again later.)
• Send a comment by email to BLM_UT_CCD_monuments@blm.gov
• Prefer snail mail? Mail your comments to: Bureau of Land Management, 669 S Hwy 89A, Kanab, UT 84741.

What should I say?

Please take a minute to present your comments in your own words. Start with who you are and your personal connection to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Next, identify any credentials that may distinguish your comment from others. Are you an archaeologist, backcountry hiker, or local business owner? Say so.

Other key points to hit:

• Urge the BLM to halt planning under the new proclamation for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument until the legitimacy of the Trump proclamation is fully settled by the courts.
• Rather than wasting time and taxpayer dollars on these management plans, the BLM should invest in protecting the natural and cultural resources on the ground within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
• If planning moves ahead, urge the BLM to protect the resources of the original monument as set forth in the original 1996 proclamation. 
• Urge the BLM to implement  the original 1999 Monument Management Plan for protection of all sensitive resources —  cultural, natural/ecological, paleontological, and geological — as described in the original 1996 proclamation.
• Recommend that the BLM incorporate the Sustainable Grazing Alternative for management of grazing in the monument (see details below).
• Urge the BLM to extend the comment period to at least 90 days after the last public meeting, to allow the public time to comment.

Advocate for improved grazing in the monument

The original 1999 Monument Management Plan included excellent management for most aspects of the monument, but it did not address grazing. The BLM says the new management plans will include grazing management. 

The Trust and several other conservation organizations are submitting the Sustainable Grand Staircase-Escalante Alternative, which combines the 1999 Monument Management Plan with the 2014 Sustainable Grazing Alternative and proposes vastly improved management of grazing on monument lands. This alternative provides the means of gaining livestock-free areas and ways to greatly improve management of grazed areas.

In your comment, urge the BLM to adopt the Sustainable Grand Staircase Alternative if planning is to continue.

Ready? Submit your comment now ›

Other ways to make your voice heard

Live nearby? The Bureau of Land Management is hosting two public meetings as part of the monument management planning process for Grand Staircase-Escalante. If you can, show up and speak out in support of protecting the monument in its entirety.

More information about the BLM’s proposed planning can be found on the BLM’s planning website. Take a look ›

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s magnificent scenery, geology, and treasure troves of fossils and dinosaur bones deserve protection. 

The Grand Canyon Trust believes Trump’s proclamation dismembering Grand Staircase is unlawful — the president has the authority to create a national monument under the Antiquities Act, but only Congress can revoke or reduce a national monument. The Trust and others are challenging the Trump proclamation in court.