President Clinton proclaimed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in September 1996, the first of a series of new national monuments to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This Utah gem's 1.7 million acres are rugged and remote, a place where bold plateaus and multi-hued cliffs run for distances that defy human perspective. It is a wonderland of recreational opportunities, solitude and escape. Its frontier qualities greatly enhance the Monument's value for scientific study, but its management is cause for concern.
A Remote Place, a Treasure
There is perhaps no more remote place in the country than the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Within the fiery orange and red canyons of the National Monument lie uncountable hidden treasures: thousands of Anasazi ruins; deep chasms strung with hanging gardens; gently sloped rock sinks that collect precious, life-sustaining water.
The Kaiparowits Plateau, which comprises nearly half the new monument, is one of the least accessible areas in the country. Rugged terrain and lack of water have kept this area a virtual blank spot on the map. The outstanding wilderness value of the Grand Staircase Escalante is clear. Now we have the exciting challenge of learning more about its cultural artifacts and how plants and wildlife use the area.
Rich in Human, Natural History
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a dramatic landscape rich in natural and human history, a unique combination of archaeological, historical, paleontological, geological, and biological resources.
These strikingly beautiful and scientifically important lands, stretching across 1.7 million acres, are divided into three distinct regions: the Grand Staircase, a series of great geological steps that ascend northward; the Kaiparowits Plateau, a huge wedge-shaped block of mesas and deeply incised canyons; and the Canyons of the Escalante, a maze of interconnected canyons formed by the Escalante River's drop from the Aquarius Plateau on its journey to the Colorado River.
Remoteness, limited travel corridors, and low visitation have all helped to preserve intact the monument's important ecological values. The blending of warm and cold desert floras, along with the high number of endemic species, place this area in the heart of perhaps the richest floristic region in the Intermountain West.
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument was the first given to the BLM to manage; a number of others have since joined it as part of a new National Landscape Conservation System within the agency. The Wilderness Society has been actively involved in the process of developing a final management plan for the monument. We've constantly monitored the process and provided the agency our own scientific information along the way. The BLM approved the final management plan in February 2000.
Generally, the plan as written provides good protection for the ecological values the presidential proclamation enumerated, the values the monument is meant to protect. The challenge now lies in ensuring that the agency carefully implements, and diligently enforces, the plan's provisions.
Cattle and Off-Road Vehicles
Beyond those general questions, grazing on the monument is a very serious issue. In 2001, severe drought in the region severely limited forage for the cattle permitted on several grazing allotments in the monument. The BLM ordered cattle removed. Ranchers defied the orders and eventually the BLM had to remove a number of them itself in order to protect the range, a step The Wilderness Society fully supported.
Off-road vehicle use continues to damage the monument, despite the fact that the management plan created a transportation plan clearly specifying where dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles may and may not go. Unfortunately, the management plan has failed in its promise to rehabilitate "routes in areas that are easily accessible to the public and that involve sensitive resources in immediate danger of being degraded." The agency even backed down away from installing signs in about half the monument to indicate which dirt tracks are open to vehicle use.
Implementation Guide
The Wilderness Society is preparing an "Implementation Guide to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Land Management Plan." The guide, which we expect to publish in early 2003, will help individuals and organizations that wish to monitor implementation of the BLM's final management plan. We also continue our own monitoring of the actions the monument staff proposes and management decisions it makes.
Unfounded Anguish over Economics
Local opposition to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument was stiff and, in some quarters, remains so. Many based their opposition on economic concerns because the monument would allow no mining or other natural resource extraction.
The Wilderness Society has measured economic trends in the two counties that encompass the monument, Kane County and Garfield County. We've found no evidence of economic disaster since the monument was established. Indeed, just the opposite has occurred since the monument was proclaimed: unemployment has declined, and jobs, wages and per capita income have all increased.
While some local residents might not like the way the Monument was designated, these trends seem to suggest that designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has promoted economic development in local communities.
Grand Staircase-Escalante Facts
- Location: Utah
- Size: More than 1.7 million acres
- Date: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created on September 18, 1996
- Managing Agency: The Bureau of Land Management
County Economic Profiles
View economic profiles for counties where the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is located. Profiles provide details of trends and components of the local economies.
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