Protect Red Cliffs

Help prevent a highway from going through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in Utah!

On December 28th 2023, the scoping comment period for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to Reconsider the Northern Corridor Highway Right-of-Way concluded. The draft SEIS is scheduled to be released in April 2024, which will kick off another public comment period, and it is essential that the conservation community continues to advocate for the protection of Red Cliffs. If you would like to be notified when this next comment period opens, please join Conserve Southwest Utah's email list by going to www.conserveswu.org.

The Northern Corridor Highway is a proposed four-lane highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) which is critical Mojave desert tortoise habitat. If constructed, the Northern Corridor Highway would set a dangerous national precedent that would make all protected public lands vulnerable to development.

Since 2006, local residents and concerned citizens across the country have vocalized their opposition to this highway that would bulldoze through critical habitat for the Mojave desert tortoise and damage Red Cliffs NCA, a protected landscape renowned for its scenic views, recreation, and wildlife. In January 2021, in the final days of the Trump Administration, the Department of the Interior approved the highway right-of-way over viable transportation alternatives that meet community needs without impacting protected public lands.

In November 2023, the Bureau of Land Management announced it would reconsider the project and opened a public comment period for the public to weigh in. We need your voice to keep Red Cliffs roadless and protect vulnerable desert tortoises.

35,828

people from across the United States, and beyond, have asked that the Northern Corridor Highway not be built through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

About The Petition

In November 2021, Conserve Southwest Utah launched the Protect Red Cliffs petition with the Red Cliffs Conservation Coalition. This petition garnered signatures from across the country, and the world, from people in support of protecting Red Cliffs National Conservation Area from the Northern Corridor Highway Development.

Petition History

About Red Cliffs NCA

Red Cliffs NCA in Southern Utah is strikingly beautiful with its wide-open lands, narrow canyons, and namesake rock formations. These public lands are treasured by locals and visitors and protection from development is essential if we don't want to lose the diverse range of unparalleled ecological, cultural, wildlife and recreational resources they hold. The proposed Northern Corridor Highway would:

Permanently damage critical habitat and further endanger species like the Mojave desert tortoise that are struggling to survive.
Harm places where people love to hike, bike, climb, and horseback ride.
Set a terrible national precedent that protected public lands can be paved over.

Building a Local Highway Through Protected Lands Has National Consequences

A threat to one National Conservation Area is a threat to all protected public lands. If constructed, the Northern Corridor Highway would set a dangerous national precedent that would make all protected public lands vulnerable to development.

Conservation Lands in the United States cover around 35 million acres, including all 17 National Conservation Areas, numerous National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and Wild and Scenic Rivers. If the Northern Corridor Highway is constructed, these beloved lands will become vulnerable to development, undermining the entire National Conservation Lands system. We must ensure that lands already designated as protected remain protected.

Keep Protected Lands Protected

Red Cliffs is Too Valuable to Destroy

Red Cliffs NCA spans 45,000 acres of stunning red rock wilderness in Southwest Utah next to the St. George metropolitan area. Red Cliffs NCA was designated by Congress in 2009 for the sole purpose of ensuring permanent protections for the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources found in this area, such as the threatened Mojave desert tortoise.

Red Cliffs is No Place for a Highway

The Northern Corridor is a proposed 4-lane highway through the protected Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and National Conservation Area. The highway would run through Red Cliffs for 4.5 miles, damaging critical habitat, exquisite scenery, cultural resources, and world-class recreation.

The Northern Corridor Highway was approved by the Department of the Interior in the final days of the Trump administration. This decision was made despite the fact that the highway was denied six prior times because it was found to violate several laws and was unsupported by Congress. In June of 2021, the Red Cliffs Conservation Coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the highway approval to ensure that Red Cliffs remains protected.

The Northern Corridor Highway must be stopped because:

Red Cliffs NCA is part of the ancestral homelands of Southern Paiute and Pueblo communities. These lands are filled with significant cultural resources to Indigenous communities in the Southwest region that construction will irreparably harm.

The construction of the Northern Corridor Highway and related decisions would cause habitat degradation and destruction leading to the permanent loss of Mojave desert tortoise habitat. The highway will impact over 20 additional threatened, endangered, and sensitive species including the Gila monster, burrowing owl, and kit fox.

Red Cliffs NCA is a popular destination for all outdoor enthusiasts with world-class recreation that attracts over 200,000 visitors annually. In addition to harming the integrity of the protected landscape, the Northern Corridor Highway would damage 15 popular trails.