Wilderness Watch is pushing back on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to open the Keg Knoll airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness just northwest of Canyonlands National Park in Utah to more backcountry aircraft. We’re opposing the plan’s infrastructure expansion also, which includes parking for ten aircraft, pilot camping, visual markers, and vegetation manipulation.
While the BLM claims the wilderness airstrip has been in regular and continuous use, the agency’s own 2008 Resource Management Plan failed to list Keg Knoll among its “existing and currently used backcountry airstrips” and the airstrip was not listed as active at the time of the wilderness designation in 2019. If there has been any use since the 2008 Management Plan was completed, that use is illegal, and the BLM has failed in its duty to manage Labyrinth Canyon in accordance with the Wilderness Act.
The BLM’s process also raises serious concerns under the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency requested public comments before releasing its only environmental analysis—a final Environmental Assessment (EA), which means the public was asked to comment without seeing the agency’s reasoning behind the proposal. The EA was published on May 19th, but a signed decision is still forthcoming.
BLM needs to drop this plan to expand the airstrip and instead should close it entirely to protect the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness and its wildlife. At a bare minimum, the agency needs to conduct a transparent public process and further analysis of the impacts to the Wilderness before issuing any final decision.
Photo: BLM
