Protecting Utah's Magnificent Arch Canyon

The Bureau of Land Management recently denied SUWA’s request to protect Arch Canyon from the damage caused by off-road vehicles (ORVs).  Instead, BLM is managing this rare and valuable desert oasis as a racetrack and obstacle course for ATVs and dirt bikes.  In denying SUWA’s request, BLM stated that off-road vehicle use does not cause damage to the “cultural, fisheries or riparian resources in the canyon,” even though the eight-mile ORV route crosses the stream 60 times in a one-way trip up to the U.S. Forest Service boundary, where the vehicles must turn around and then drive back down the canyon, crossing the stream another 60 times!

Spectacularly scenic and remote, Arch Canyon’s perennial water flow supports a number of native plant, animal and fish species, including the flannelmouth sucker, a fish which is listed as a “sensitive species” by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.  In addition, the canyon’s prehistoric inhabitants left behind wondrous artifacts including exceptional sandstone cliff dwellings, rock art, stone tools, pottery sherds and other remnants of their life in the canyon.

Unfortunately, BLM’s recent decision is just business as usual, putting motorized use above the preservation of valuable natural and cultural resources.

What You Can Do:  While we are reviewing legal options, please contact Juan Palma, Utah BLM Director, and ask him to protect Arch Canyon’s rare desert stream, resident fish species, and irreplaceable cultural resources by closing Arch Canyon to ORV use.

Juan Palma
Utah State BLM
PO Box 45155
Salt Lake City, UT  84145-0155

Juan_Palma@blm.gov

Resources:

• SUWA v. BLM -- Arch Canyon complaint
• Petition to Preserve Arch Canyon's Natural and Cultural Heritage
• Q&A Sheet
• Photos
• Graphic Map of Arch Canyon


• BLM October 2010 Decision and Related Documents
• BLM Final Record of Decision on the Ach Canyon Petition
• BLM Arch Canyon Fisheries Resources Report
• BLM Arch Canyon Riparian Resources Report
• BLM Arch Canyon Cultural Resources Report
• BLM Arch Canyon Patrol Log
• BLM Arch Canyon Visitor Statistics

• Press Releases
  
  • Court Rules that It May Review BLM Decision to Ignore Damage and Allow Off-Road Vehicles in Arch Canyon
  • BLM Backs Down from Issuing Multi-Year, Multi-Event Off-Road Vehicle Permit for Arch Canyon
  • BLM Ignores Request to Protect Arch Canyon's Cultural Resources
  • Coalition of Business Owners, Native Americans and Conservationists File Petition to Protect Arch Canyon
  
  
• Reports
• Site Condition and Vandalism Assessment of Archaeological Sites, Lower and Middle Arch Canyon, San Juan County, Utah, by Jerry Spangler (October 2006)
• Arch Canyon Riparian Assessment and Management Recommendations, by Charles Schelz (August 2006)
• Addendum to Arch Canyon Riparian Assessment and Management Recommendations, by Charles Schelz (December 2006)
• Cultural Resources on the Bureau of Land Management Public Lands, National Trust for Historic Preservation (May 2006)


• Related Articles
• Archaeology, Off-Road Vehicles, and the BLM, Archaeology (April 20, 2005)
• Lacking a Permit, Jeeps Travel Canyon, Salt Lake Tribune (May 1, 2004)

Arch Canyon archaeological site.  Copyright Liz Thomas/SUWA.


Jeep crossing stream in Arch Canyon.  Copyright Liz Thomas/SUWA.

Dirt Biker in Arch Canyon.  Copyright Liz Thomas/SUWA.