Utah Wilderness

This is a land of layer-cake sedimentary geology where ancient sand dunes form massive cliffs and domes that range starkly in color, from white to deep, brick red. Here, the great Colorado and Green Rivers have sliced deep, broad canyons through the yielding sandstone. Ephemeral streams have cut deep slot canyons so narrow you can touch both sides with outstretched arms.

The pliant sedimentary rock has eroded into fantastic shapes, creating formations like the San Rafael Reef, Comb Ridge and the Cockscomb. Granite remnants of magma chambers have been uplifted through the overlying sedimentary layers to form tall, isolated mountain ranges such as the Henry Mountains. Farther north, bisected by the Green River in Desolation Canyon, are the impossibly crenelated highs and lows of the Book Cliffs and the plateaus that form their backdrop.

Despite its forbidding appearance, the wild lands of Utah are home to an array of native wildlife species. Large mammals roam the landscape, including mountain lions, pronghorn antelope, elk, bison and bighorn sheep. The Utah wilderness hosts at least two dozen endangered or sensitive wildlife species that require specialized desert habitat. They include the Gila monster, chuckwalla and desert tortoise in the hot southwest corner of the state and the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and endangered fish species of the Colorado, Green and Virgin Rivers. Scientists estimate that 180 of Utah's plant species are currently classified as endangered, threatened or sensitive.

Wilderness and the Economy

Utah's wilderness offers more than biological value. Because of its unique beauty and recreational opportunities, the state has become a hot spot for tourism. Utah's economy is among the strongest in the nation; technology and tourism are among the largest and most important economic activities, far exceeding extractive industries such as mining, oil and gas development, and timber production. For example, where mining used to represent a major industry in Utah, changes in Utah's mining industry are telling. Between 1981 and 1997, the number of Utahns employed in the mining industry plummeted from 20,000 to just 8,100. In some rural counties, jobs in the industry have all but disappeared.

Permanent protection for Utah's unique wild lands will help preserve some of the state's most special landscapes, creating an even more attractive place to live, work and vacation. Benefits to the economy are not just in the tourism industry. Increasingly, high-tech firms and other non-extractive industries are locating in Utah to take advantage of its beautiful surroundings. Wilderness protection offers direct benefits to some business sectors, such as outfitting and guiding, which in some rural counties represent a major component of the local economy.

Utah's Redrock country is a national treasure. Unfortunately this magnificent landscape is at great risk from oil and gas exploration and rampant abuse by off-road-vehicles. The solution to preserving these wildlands is official wilderness designation by Congress. America's Redrock Wilderness Act, which has been before Congress since 1989, would give permanent protection to these lands. The bill has met with extreme opposition from most of Utah's congressional delegates and has not passed primarily because of their opposition.

Photo courtesy James Kay; used with permission.