- Utah and the federal government have signed a long-term agreement to jointly manage the San Rafael Swell, ending more than a century of sole federal oversight.
- The state will provide annual trail, campground and infrastructure maintenance along with 480 hours of law enforcement services to improve recreation and safety.
- Local leaders say the partnership gives counties a greater role in land management and creates more stability through federal budget changes, shutdowns and shifting priorities.
Effective Monday, the state of Utah agreed to jointly manage the San Rafael Swell, a roughly 340-mile area in Emery County, which has been solely overseen by the federal government for well over a century.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson signed a long-term agreement with Utah’s acting BLM Director Christina Price in Utah’s state Capitol on Monday afternoon.
Within a few weeks, the state will begin hands-on work in the area.
“Every single year, the state of Utah will provide 480 hours of hands-on maintenance for recreation, infrastructure and trails. Every year we will provide 480 hours of state law enforcement services within the recreation area,” Henderson said prior to signing the agreement.
The San Rafael Swell contains Goblin Valley State Park and seven Wilderness Study Areas.
Emery County and Green River commissioners present at the signing described the new agreement as a way to increase the park’s stability through government shutdowns and varying federal budgets and priorities.
“This agreement allows Emery County and local municipalities to participate alongside the state, ensuring the people closest to the landscape have a seat at the table,” Price said.
Local leaders have been working toward this agreement for about 25 years. In 2019, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Dingell Act into law, calling for state and federal leaders to work together to manage public lands.
Must there be ‘adversarial tension’ between state and federal government?
The San Rafael Swell brings in more than 600,000 visitors annually. Its dramatic sandstone canyons hold dinosaur fossils and human artifacts. Climbers, hikers and bikers also enjoy the area’s 30-plus trails.
After describing what the area offers to visitors, Henderson said, “Too often we think that there has to be some sort of adversarial tension between the federal government and the state government.”
“But ultimately, we all want the same thing, and that is to be able to protect, preserve and sustainably use our public lands,” she said, adding that the new agreement helps to accomplish that.
Price, the state’s acting BLM director, added, “This agreement means better maintained trails, safer recreating and enjoyable experiences and landscape that is actively stewarded.”
How will the agreement change the area?
The state’s first priority in the San Rafael Swell will be trail and campground maintenance.
“Initial work is going to be mostly around recreation, but law enforcement has a huge part to play,” Redge Johnson, the executive director of Utah’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, said on Monday.
He said BLM only has several dozen enforcement officers for the large land area, and the state has about 140.
The counties in the area will also be “integrally involved” in meeting between the state and the BLM to explore potential trail and campground expansion.
“Recreation potential in the state of Utah is a huge economic driver, especially for many rural communities,” Johnson said. “I think the counties recognize that, and we’re excited to be able to maintain that recreation area, but do so in a way that benefits the landscape.”
Johnson thanked then-Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and former Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for championing the 2019 Dingell Act, which made the agreement possible.
“Together, we intend to make this the absolute gold standard for how federal land management can be cooperatively achieved,” Johnson said.
