On Saturday, Dec. 9, students in Southern Utah University’s bouldering class, ORPT 1525, visited Moe’s Valley, a bouldering paradise near St. George. Staked across the trails were signs that urged “Save Red Cliffs Desert Reserve!” Litigation has been ensuing over the construction of a road, a decision that could threaten several endangered species and recreational areas like this hotspot for southern Utah climbers.
Some St. George residents have advocated for a new road between Washington Parkway and Red Hills Parkway that would reduce traffic congestion and air pollution as St. George continues to grow its population. The proposed Northern Corridor highway would run through protected land in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. In 2021, the federal government approved the project, and a land trade took place.
This trade expanded the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve to include 6,800 acres of protected land, designated as Zone 6, in exchange for 150 acres that would be used to construct the long-negotiated road. Federal agencies and the Bureau of Land Management conducted this trade, resulting in 6,650 acres gained for the reserve.
Protection has allowed the endangered Dwarf Bear Poppy to thrive and given a safe home to over 500 Mojave desert tortoises. Recreational areas such as Moe’s Valley and the Green Valley Gap, along with 65 miles of trails, have been protected for two years. However, the eastern part of this land could be sold as the BLM reconsiders the legality of their 2021 decision in a lawsuit filed by Conserve Southwest Utah.
CSU opposes the construction of the Northern Corridor, as it would be built through the middle of the existing Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. Their website claims construction would “set a dangerous national precedent that would make all protected public lands vulnerable to development.” Their organization is also concerned for the desert tortoises and other vulnerable species threatened by the construction, along with its historical and cultural significance to the Southern Paiute and Pueblo Native American tribes. The proposed highway would also damage 15 trails.
CSU argues that the BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Administration did not follow proper procedures in making this trade. Before its approval under the Trump administration’s Department of the Interior, the project had been denied six times. This lawsuit was filed in June 2021, and the government agreed to reconsider its decision in November 2023.
If the highway is denied, Zone 6 will be returned to the School Institutional Trust Lands Administration. SITLA lands are required to make money that will go to supporting Utah schools. This trade gave responsibility over Zone 6 to the BLM, and SITLA would have been able to make money off their other lands. If this deal is decided to have not been legal, the decision will be reversed and portions of SITLA’s land, including Moe’s Valley, could likely be sold off to developers as a way to fulfill their obligation to Utah schools.
The reserve will also lose funding if the project is discontinued. The Habitat Conservation Plan helps fund the protection of tortoises in St. George. The most recent version of their permit allows close to $28 million in conservation efforts, including habitat construction and protection from raven predation. Without Zone 6, only $12 million will be allotted.
This possibility that Zone 6 could lose its place in the reserve would be devastating to boulderers like SUU professor Jason Tyler Burton. Moe’s Valley is a unique location for those who enjoy this sport since it has over 400 problems to climb. Such a multitude of routes and its proximity to SUU are some of the reasons why Burton takes his classes here.
“As St. George is growing, they’re looking at ways to develop, to add roads, so there is potential encroachment of housing and other things into this area,” Burton said. “I personally would like to keep it, from the standpoint of having these kinds of world-class recreational opportunities for people to take advantage of when they come to the St. George area and not just more houses.”
There are a myriad of environmental concerns that have been raised by both supporters and dissenters of the highway project. Washington County held a town hall on Dec. 6 where residents could come and voice their opinions and concerns to legislators. While the decision has yet to be made, the county is accepting comments until Dec. 21. SUU students who want to make their voices heard can submit their thoughts on the proposed highway project and all its environmental implications online.
Author: Lily Brunson
Photographer: Lily Brunson
Editor: Lily Brunson
outdoors@suunews.net
