In 2019, Congress designated the Desolation Canyon Wilderness and two Wild and Scenic segments on the Green River in Desolation/Gray Canyons. The Desolation Canyon and Turtle Canyon Wildernesses, surrounding Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), and other adjoining roadless public and Tribal lands in the Book Cliffs constitute a contiguous million-acre wild region with superlative wildlife and other wilderness values.
Desolation Canyon includes an 80-mile stretch of the wild Green River, which has carved a 5,000-foot gorge that provides one of the wildest and most remote river running experiences in the western United States. Rocky Mountain bighorn, bison, black bear, cougar, elk, mule deer, and at least three endangered fish species all call this Wilderness home.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is asking for public input on a proposal analyzing commercial services in Desolation Canyon on the Green River. Currently, BLM allocates 50 percent of river launch permits to commercial outfitters, even though many of these launch days go unused by them. At the same, the general public is forced to compete in a lottery where the chances of drawing a permit can be less than 3 in 100.
The Wilderness Act has a very narrow exception allowing commercial services, like outfitters and guides, to the extent they are necessary and proper. Rather than seriously address the extent to which commercial services are necessary, BLM proposes to simply continue the status quo while attempting to paper over how much the environmental, legal, and social conditions have changed since the current system was put in place more than 40 years ago.
Beyond the allocation issues, the three alternatives BLM has considered fail to adequately consider the impacts of commercial activities, including the use of motorboats, which are completely unnecessary for floating Desolation Canyon. It ignores unlawful commercial activities, like antler collecting along the Green River, and fails to address how the Ute Tribe’s management of its lands on the east side of the river affects the area as a whole. Additionally, the EA only looks at commercial rafting and not land-based outfitting. Lastly, the reported use numbers in the EA for all users together appear to exceed the existing permit limits.
Photo: Bob Wick/BLM
