Multiple environmental groups are suing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after they approved a development plan for a highway. The lawsuit came on February 4 when BLM approved the Utah Department of Transportation’s application for a four-lane highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The challenge came on the basis of the approval violating federal laws.

The development plan was initially approved in 2021, with Washington County officials citing economic benefits like reducing traffic congestion around St. George by 15%, where the road is planned to be built. BLM denied the plan in 2024 in favor of an alternative option to expand the existing Red Hills Parkway. In its latest approval, BLM reviewed UDOT’s request for reconsideration on the alternative and concluded it would not be “technically or economically feasible.” The highway is in the process of marking its right-of-way and will be built to connect Interstate 15 and State Route 18.

Environmental impact

The BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the state of Utah, Washington County and local municipalities manage the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The area was federally designated to serve environmental and historical protection in 2009. It supports endangered plant and animal species while hosting public heritage sites and Native American cultural artifacts.

The Center for Biological Diversity is one of the organizations behind the lawsuit. Lisa Belenky is a senior counsel at the center and stated in a press release that the approval violated multiple federal laws, such as the Endangered Species Act. She also said that the approval would threaten the habitat of the endangered Mojave Desert tortoise and other species in the conservation area.

The press release also cited BLM’s 2024 environmental review, stating that the project would harm other wildlife and plants and damage cultural resources. “Despite BLM’s 2024 findings, Washington County and UDOT continue to push for an illegal highway while ignoring past promises to protect Red Cliffs National Conservation Area,” said Stacy Wittek, Executive Director of Conserve Southwest Utah.

Belenky said the plan had been considered eight times since it was first introduced in 2018 and was halted due to concerns from community opposition. “The Bureau of Land Management’s decision to reverse itself is a disastrous mistake. Bulldozing a highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area would destroy some of the last best habitat for threatened desert tortoises and forever scar this rare natural refuge,” Belenky said in the press release.

Additional organizations that are suing against the approval of the highway plan are Conserve Southwest Utah, Conservation Lands Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society and Wildearth Guardians.

Economic incentives

The goal of the highway is to relieve traffic congestion on existing routes as Washington County’s population quickly grows. The approval would include adding land to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and funding for tortoise relocations. This expansion would add about 900 tortoises to the protected area while relocating about 30-40 tortoises.

Austin Green is a Wildlife Biology professor at the University of Utah, focusing on how humans influence natural environments. Green explained the state of urban development and environmentalism in Utah. “Utah is growing faster than any other state in the Union, so it’s difficult to balance the growing population with a thriving wildlife community. When the population increases, not only do we have to find space for them to accommodate their living, but we also have to accommodate the increase in activity that incurs on our outdoor spaces,” Green said.

Green explained that even though decisions like the highway’s approval are made with research on the impacts that it will have on wildlife, there can be a concern, as sustainable development usually lacks short-term returns, which impacts its likelihood of being considered. “The issue is a lot of the profits that come from (urbanization) tend to be long-term profits. We’re trying to change the paradigm with how we build cities in a way that we’re looking for long-term successes and not short-term profits. It can be a tough sell, but research does back that building sustainably can be good in the long run in all aspects,” Green said.

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