Conservation groups sue US over Utah canyon highway plan

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 14:00 · Archive

Conservation groups sued the US government over plans to blast cliff walls in eastern Utah to build an oil truck highway.

Conservation groups sued the US government this week over plans to blast cliff walls in Gate Canyon, eastern Utah, to build a paved highway for oil trucks serving the Uinta Basin oil fields. The project would destroy 100-foot cliffs containing at least 47 historic sites, including 19th-century inscriptions carved by Black American soldiers known as Buffalo Soldiers and made by European pioneers using axle grease.

Gate Canyon is home to threatened species including the Mexican spotted owl. The canyon runs north off Nine Mile Canyon, which is described as the world's longest art gallery and contains the United States' largest concentration of Native rock art, with over 1,000 sites containing more than 10,000 images dating to prehistoric times.

The Bureau of Land Management approved the project in April. Conservation groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, claim the decision was rushed and the public process was hidden. Deeda Seed, senior Utah campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plan would 'transform a quiet backcountry road into a highway clogged with speeding oil tanker trucks'. The US Department of the Interior declined to comment due to pending litigation.

How it is being reported

• Trump White House sued over plan to blast Utah’s famed cliffs to make way for oil truck highwayThe Trump administration approved local officials’ request to pave Gate Canyon, despite the move violating environmental and cultural preservation laws, according to the lawsuitIndependent World · 10 Oct, 13:48
• US sued by conservation groups over plan to blast Utah canyon walls to build highwayThe cliffs are also a habitat for threatened species such as the Mexican spotted owl, the suit claims.New York Post · 9 Oct, 20:34

In this story: Conservation groups · Bureau of Land Management · Center for Biological Diversity · Gate Canyon · Nine Mile Canyon · Uinta Basin · Utah · US Department of the Interior

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