Northern Corridor approval reversed; Utah conservation groups, lawmakers react
Dec 23, 2024, 12:07 PM
FILE - This May 13, 2006 file photo shows a desert tortoise at its new home in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve east of Leeds, Utah. (Brain Passey/The Spectrum via AP, File)
(Brain Passey/The Spectrum via AP, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Dec. 20 statement from the United States Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service reversed approval of the Northern Corridor. Utah lawmakers responded with dismay and disappointment, while conservation groups rejoiced.
Northern Corridor supporters see the project as congestion relief in an area of continuing development. The highway would connect the northeast side of the St. George area to the northwest.
Conservation groups have long opposed the project because part of it would pass through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. The area serves as a habitat for several native species, including the endangered desert tortoise.
Utah lawmakers “disappointed”
A press release from the Washington County attorney’s office called the decision “deeply disappointing.”
“Today the federal government once again proved its incompetence and loyalty to special interest environmentalists,” said Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow.
Washington County previously sued the BLM and FWS, alleging that the agencies’ revocation of an earlier biological opinion was illegal.
Related: Washington County files lawsuit against federal agencies
A joint statement from Utah’s congressional delegation was provided by the office of Rep. Celeste Maloy.
“The Biden administration’s decision to amend Washington County’s permit for a Northern Corridor highway – which was negotiated in good faith and has been part of the county’s transportation management plan for decades – blatantly disregards local voices and the law,” read the statement.
“We look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to review this decision and its compliance with federal law.”
Conservation groups praise Northern Corridor approval cancellation
A joint press release from several conservation groups supported the BLM’s decision to revoke the approval.
“For the seventh time, the agencies have once again concluded that punching a high-speed four-lane highway through a National Conservation Area and critical habitat for the threatened Mojave desert tortoise undermines both the habitat needed for the tortoise to survive and the purposes of the congressional designation as an NCA,” said Todd Tucci, Advocates for the West senior attorney.
The press release said that the Dec. 20 statement confirms the BLM and FWS repudiation of the project.
“Authorizing a major freeway through a Congressionally-designated conservation area should never have happened in the first place,” said Kya Marienfeld, a wildlands attorney for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
The future of Zone 6, an area suggested to be added to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve to offset space taken up by the Northern Corridor, is unknown.
Following the August filing of a lawsuit against the BLM and FWS, Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist said that a chunk of Zone 6 will be sold to developers if the plan is canceled. No official announcements have been made.
Related: Why is the Northern Corridor so controversial?
