BLM Plans to Auction Off Land That Includes Moab’s Iconic Slickrock Trail

Update: On February 21, BLM announced, citing recreation conflicts and public concerns, that the two most egregious parcels would be removed from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale. The parcels, identified as numbers 11 and 12 and shown in the map below, would have allowed for horizontal drilling into areas adjacent to the Slickrock trail and camping zones in the Sand Flats Special Recreation Management Area.

This is great news.

At the same time, other parcels in the lease sale continue to imperil recreation resources in the area, including river access and climbing. More broadly, we never should have gotten here. It's tempting to say that the public spoke up, the agency listened, and the system worked, but that would not be an accurate telling. What this illustrates instead is what "energy dominance" run amok looks like. Right now, BLM under Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, is prepared to offer virtually anywhere within the agency's authority up for energy development, regardless of how low the value for energy or how high the other resource values. These parcels never should have been considered for development, and it shouldn't take a nationwide wave of news coverage and an all-hands effort from the recreation community to keep places like Slickrock free from drilling.

Keep reading to learn more about the backstory below--and share comments about the parcels still up for lease. Expect to hear more from us soon on a legislative opportunity to help rein in the lease-first-ask-questions-later approach at BLM. Also, we have to share huge thanks to Public Land Solutions and the thousands of you who wrote emails to the BLM about this.

Click the letter to read our full comment to the BLM.

As you may have heard, the iconic Slickrock trail in Moab is under threat from upcoming oil and gas leasing in Utah. For weeks, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been planning to open public comments on the lease sale starting February 20, and Outdoor Alliance has been preparing maps and opportunities for you to comment. In recent days, Utah Governor Gary Herbert, among others, has requested that BLM remove the parcel affecting Slickrock, and late last night, we heard from a BLM official that the BLM may be removing the parcel from the auction.

As of this morning, the BLM website still indicates they are moving ahead with the lease, both around Slickrock and on thousands of other acres with camping, hiking, climbing, and boating access. For now, it’s unclear what’s going to happen, but we do know one thing: the potential sale of Slickrock is what the worst of “energy dominance” looks like. It’s egregious selling off of our collective public lands and waters, regardless of the damage it will do to world famous trails, recreation, cultural, or environmental resources. People are rightfully angry with this approach, and the BLM should hear from outdoor enthusiasts right now.

Speak Up for Slickrock

Selling Off Slickrock

Here’s the background: over the past few years, the Trump administration has opened up millions of acres of public land for oil and gas leasing, in some cases giving away the rights to these lands for less than $2 an acre. Outdoor Alliance has been tracking these leases and working to protest ones that overlap with outdoor recreation.

Recently, the BLM announced it will offer seven parcels with 6,709 acres of public land just outside of Moab, Utah for oil and gas leasing. These parcels contain a lot of recreation, including the iconic Slickrock trail and climbing in Muleshoe Canyon. The 10.5 mile Slickrock trail is recognized worldwide and helped put Moab on the map as a recreation destination. The trail was originally laid out in the late ‘60s by off-road enthusiasts, and contrary to the name, the sandstone surface feels more like sandpaper, providing excellent traction. Slickrock is located within the Sand Flats Recreation Area and is bordered on the north and south by the Grandstaff and Mill Creek Wilderness Study Areas. The area attracts more than 160,000 visitors each year and is open to mountain biking, hiking, motorcycling, and four-wheeled vehicles (source). Though officials at the BLM are considering removing the Slickrock trail portion from the parcel, there are thousands of other acres containing camping, hiking, climbing, and potential boating access. And there’s more than just recreation – this area is also the source of drinking water in the region.

This is at least the second controversial lease sale in Utah this year—we also recently submitted comments on an oil and gas lease sale that could affect trails in the McCoy Flats and Halfway Hollow Trail Systems near Vernal, Utah.

Why is the BLM offering up public lands with developed recreation for oil and gas development? Under the administration’s “Energy Dominance” agenda, which encourages fossil energy development on public lands, the BLM is offering almost any parcel nominated by industry on lands that are considered “open” under drilling-friendly resource management plans developed in 2008. To read more about oil and gas leasing, check out prior posts here and here.

In addition to disregarding conservation values and climate impacts, this free-for-all on oil and gas leasing endangers important public lands and waters, especially those with valued trails, campsites, and river access. The good news is there are some key opportunities for the outdoor community to make a difference, starting with our GIS team that monitors lease sales that could impact outdoor recreation. While a lot of these lease sales happen quietly – without much public input – decision makers at the BLM do listen when there is public outcry, so our voices can make a difference in protecting Slickrock.

You can use the tool below to submit a comment directly to top decision makers at the BLM.