Sponsors (70)
Official title: To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Melanie Ann Stansbury · Last progress March 27, 2025
The bill permanently protects large landscapes, cultural sites, water, and wildlife—advancing conservation, Indigenous protections, and recreation—while restricting extractive uses and some motorized/traditional activities and imposing costs and administrative burdens on local economies, states, and federal managers.
Residents, visitors, and nearby communities benefit from large tracts of public land being permanently protected as wilderness, preserving habitat, scenic landscapes, and ecological corridors for wildlife.
Indigenous peoples retain stronger legal protection for cultural, medicinal, ceremonial, and archaeological sites and can continue many traditional activities (hunting, fishing, spiritual uses) on protected lands.
Nearby communities gain lasting ecosystem benefits—cleaner water and air and conserved wildlife habitat—that support public health and local quality of life.
Miners, fossil‑fuel and energy developers, and local economies tied to extraction lose access to lands for mining, leasing, and development, potentially reducing jobs and local revenues.
People and businesses that rely on motorized or mechanized access (off‑road users, some recreation operators, ranching support) will face new restrictions on access and uses, requiring adjustments or limiting traditional activities.
Federal land managers and taxpayers may face higher management, enforcement, and operational costs to implement and oversee new wilderness protections, especially if no new funding is provided.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Designates 51 federal land units in western Utah as wilderness and sets rules for administration, land exchanges, and reserved water rights.
Designates multiple federal land units in western Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System to conserve red-rock canyons, Great Basin and Colorado Plateau landscapes, and cultural values. The bill requires mapping and legal descriptions, directs administration under existing wilderness and public-land laws, establishes procedures for land exchanges with the State of Utah, and reserves water rights needed to protect newly designated wilderness areas.