Public Lands

Penny Stewart, Slate Stewart and Ethan Hallows at the Range Management Awards. Courtesy photo

Trust Lands staff named Range Manager of the Year... again

The Utah Society for Range Management has named Slate Stewart its 2023 Range Manager of the Year. This is the third time a Trust Lands Administration (TLA) Range Manager has been bestowed an award from the prestigious group. “Slate is widely known as one of the hardest workers around,” said Ron...

San Juan County Commission hears report on water adjudication in southeast Utah and Utah portion of Navajo Nation

by David Boyle News Director Members of the county commission approved a resolution supporting the creation of a Utah Inland Port Authority project area in the county and received a report on water rights at their latest meeting. The San Juan County Commission also received a presentation from the...

County opposes wilderness study area

by David Boyle News Director Members of the San Juan County Commission approved a letter commenting on a draft forest management plan, heard an update from the extension office and approved a 45-acre rezone as part of their latest meeting. Members of the county commission approved a letter...

Federal judge dismisses lawsuit regarding Bears Ears, State of Utah appeals the ruling

by Bill Boyle Editor, San Juan Record A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit, filed by the State of Utah and others, which challenged the 2021 expansion of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments by President Joe Biden. Judge David Nuffer ruled on August 11 that the President had the...

County weighs in on proposed BLM rule to add “conservation” to multiple use

by David Boyle News Director Members of the San Juan County Commission discussed a variety of issues around public lands at their latest meeting including a proposed rule by the Bureau of Land Management that would clarify conservation as a “use” within the Federal Land Policy and Management Act...

San Juan County Commission addresses proposed swap of SITLA land currently in Bears Ears National Monument

By David Boyle News Director Members of the San Juan County Commission received an update on the Bears Ears SITLA exchange, discussed the result of their performance audit, and approved a variety of grants at their latest meeting. At their April 18 meeting, members of the San Juan County Commission...

Road work to begin at Natural Bridges National Monument

A road construction project is scheduled for this spring and summer at Natural Bridges National Monument. Work began on Monday, April 17, and continue through Friday, July 21. Project work will resurface, restore, and rehabilitate approximately ten miles of roads and pullouts in Natural Bridges...

Image of the ten geographic places in San Juan County that have been renamed as a result of the Department of Interior’s efforts to eliminate the use of a slur from federally named places.

DOI Changes names of ten areas in San Juan

by David Boyle News Director Department of Interior approves name changes for 10 areas in San Juan County.On September 8, following a 10-month process, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced federal agencies would replace the word “squaw” on 650 geographic features across the US...

Inter-tribal coalition publishes Bears Ears Land Plan

by David Boyle News Director Members of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition recently published a 101-page Collaborative Land Management Plan for the Bears Ears National Monument. The document lays out tribal priorities and goals for the comanagement of the monument with federal land agencies,...

Agencies host Bears Ears scoping meetings

The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service will host three in-person and two virtual public scoping meetings as part of the ongoing land use planning for Bears Ears National Monument. The public is encouraged to help identify issues or concerns that should be addressed in the planning...