Key facts
- Conservation groups are suing the US government over plans to blast cliff walls in Utah's Gate Canyon.
- The project aims to replace a dirt track with a paved road through Gate Canyon.
- The area contains at least 47 historic sites, including 19th-century inscriptions by "Buffalo Soldiers" and European pioneers.
- The lawsuit claims the project violates the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Endangered Species Act.
- The US Department of the Interior had no comment due to pending litigation.
Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the US government, challenging plans to blast cliff walls in Utah's Gate Canyon to construct an oil truck highway. The project, proposed by Duchesne County, aims to replace a winding dirt track with a paved road, which plaintiffs argue would destroy at least 47 historic sites, including 19th-century inscriptions by Black American "Buffalo Soldiers" and European pioneers.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court District of Utah, Central Division, by groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, asserts that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rushed its approval of the project and violated federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act. The canyon is also noted as a habitat for the threatened Mexican spotted owl.
Gate Canyon is located near Nine Mile Canyon, described by the BLM as the world's longest art gallery and home to the largest concentration of Native American rock art in the US, with over 1,000 art sites. The plaintiffs contend that paving Gate Canyon would transform Nine Mile Canyon into a busy oil highway, potentially damaging this significant cultural and scenic area.
A spokesperson for the US Department of the Interior, the BLM's parent agency, stated that the department had no comment due to the pending litigation. The legal action follows a recent instance where a US judge blocked the Trump administration's border barrier construction in Big Bend National Park amid an environmental lawsuit.