America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act
- Bill Number
- S. 1193
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-03-27: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S1908-1912)
- Last Updated
- 2026-03-24T12:48:03Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The America's Red Rock Wilderness Act (S. 1193) aims to designate specific federal lands in Utah's red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin Deserts as wilderness areas. This protects these lands' cultural, ecological, and scenic values for current and future generations, while preserving opportunities for traditional activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and spiritual practices by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Key Provisions
- Wilderness Designations (Title I): The bill designates over 100 specific areas as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964, adding them to the National Wilderness Preservation System. These include:
- Great Basin regions (e.g., Wah Wah Mountains, Pilot Range; total ~1.8 million acres across 77 areas).
- Grand Staircase-Escalante (e.g., Paria-Hackberry, Fiftymile Mountain; ~1.1 million acres across 33 areas).
- Moab-La Sal Canyons (e.g., Behind the Rocks, Fisher Towers; ~250,000 acres across 17 areas).
- Henry Mountains (e.g., Mount Pennell; ~360,000 acres across 10 areas).
- Glen Canyon (e.g., Dirty Devil, Dark Canyon; ~870,000 acres across 14 areas).
- San Juan (e.g., Grand Gulch, Cedar Mesa; ~500,000 acres across 15 areas).
- Canyonlands Basin (e.g., Indian Creek, Labyrinth Canyon expansion; ~600,000 acres across 12 areas).
- San Rafael Swell (e.g., Mexican Mountain expansion, Eagle Canyon; ~700,000 acres across 21 areas).
- Book Cliffs-Greater Dinosaur (e.g., Desolation Canyon expansion; ~700,000 acres across 25 areas).
Boundaries are defined by maps, with approximate acreages provided.
- Administrative Rules (Title II):
- Management: Lands are managed by the Secretary of the Interior (through the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM) under the Wilderness Act and Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, subject to existing rights.
- Maps and Descriptions: BLM must file maps and legal descriptions with Congress and make them public; these have legal force.
- State Land Exchanges: BLM offers to swap federal lands of equal value for Utah state school trust lands within wilderness boundaries, excluding mineral interests unless transferred.
- Water Rights: Reserves federal water rights sufficient for wilderness needs (priority date: enactment), without affecting prior rights; requires protection in state water adjudications.
- Road Setbacks: Establishes buffer zones around roads (e.g., 100-300 feet depending on road type and wilderness adjacency) to define boundaries, with exceptions for natural barriers, fences, or minor disturbances like campsites.
- Livestock Grazing: Continues existing grazing permits under reasonable regulations consistent with wilderness laws.
- Fish and Wildlife: Preserves Utah's jurisdiction over fish and wildlife management.
- Tribal Rights: Protects all rights and U.S. obligations to federally recognized Indian Tribes.
- Acquired Lands: Any federally acquired land within boundaries becomes part of the wilderness and is managed accordingly.
- Withdrawals: Prohibits new entry, mining claims, mineral leasing, or geothermal development, subject to existing rights.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Expands the National Wilderness Preservation System by designating millions of acres of BLM-managed public lands as wilderness, which generally prohibits motorized vehicles, new roads, commercial development, and resource extraction (e.g., mining, oil/gas leasing) in these areas.
- Introduces specific road setback rules and water reservations tailored to these Utah lands, building on but modifying general wilderness management under the 1964 Wilderness Act.
- Mandates land exchanges for state inholdings (e.g., school trusts), which is not automatic in prior laws but encouraged here.
- Enhances protections for Indigenous cultural sites and uses, aligning with but going beyond the cultural resource provisions in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: BLM gains responsibility for managing ~6 million additional acres as wilderness, requiring updated plans to balance conservation with allowed uses like grazing and recreation. This may increase administrative costs for boundary mapping, monitoring, and enforcement but reduces future development pressures.
- Citizens: Enhances recreational access for non-motorized activities (e.g., hiking, backpacking) in pristine areas, potentially boosting ecotourism. Limits off-road vehicle use, mining jobs, and energy development, affecting local economies reliant on extractive industries in rural Utah.
- International Relations: No direct impacts mentioned; focuses on domestic conservation, though it supports global goals like protecting 30% of lands/waters by 2030, which could indirectly aid U.S. climate diplomacy.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Government: BLM and Department of the Interior (primary managers).
- State of Utah: Benefits from land exchanges for school trusts but loses potential revenue from mineral development on exchanged lands.
- Indigenous Tribes: Gains strengthened protections for cultural, spiritual, and traditional uses (e.g., in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase areas); tribes like those in the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition are key.
- Environmental and Conservation Groups: Positive impact through expanded protections for biodiversity, climate refugia, and scenic values.
- Local Communities and Recreation Users: Ranchers retain grazing rights; hikers, hunters, and campers gain preserved access, but off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and tourism operators may face restrictions.
- Industry Interests: Mining, oil/gas, and geothermal sectors face withdrawals, limiting new operations and potentially reducing economic opportunities in affected regions.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces the Wilderness Act by adding specific protections (e.g., water reservations, Tribal rights), ensuring compliance with property rights via existing use clauses. The bill's withdrawal provisions could face challenges under mining laws (e.g., General Mining Act of 1872) if seen as overly restrictive, but it upholds constitutional takings protections by grandfathering valid claims.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's authority over federal lands under the Property Clause (U.S. Constitution, Article IV); no apparent free speech or due process issues, as it preserves traditional uses.
- Political: Promotes conservation amid debates over public land use in the West, potentially polarizing stakeholders—support from environmentalists and Tribes, opposition from states and industries favoring development. References to national monuments (e.g., Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante) tie into ongoing resizing controversies, emphasizing permanent wilderness status over executive monument designations.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Cosponsors (18)
Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA], Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA], Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN], Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM], Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT], Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT], Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA], Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI], Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH], Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN], Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR], Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI], Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL], Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
Recent Actions
- 2025-03-27: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S1908-1912)
- 2025-03-27: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act — issued 2025-03-27 — PDF (41 pages)