What is the Citizens Wilderness proposal?
Because of flaws in the original BLM inventory, the BLM in Utah is currently protecting only 3.2 million acres as Wilderness Study Areas. Due to strong pro-development pressure, the agency has recommended just 1.9 million acres for wilderness designation. The over 255 (and still growing) citizens’ groups which form the Utah Wilderness Coalition have identified more than 9 million acres of BLM lands that meet the criteria for wilderness and which deserve protection. This is only 9 million acres out of approximately 23 million acres of BLM-administered, public land in Utah. These proposed wilderness lands account for roughly 17.3% of all the land in Utah.
