Monticello Field Office Resource Management Plan
Utah
Grand Gulch, Monticello Field Office, Utah
Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation
Over 25,000 prehistoric sites have been identified in southeastern Utah, the vast majority of which are located on federal land managed by BLM's Monticello Field Office. The extraordinary array of significant cultural resources managed by BLM include the Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark, the Cedar Mesa Area of Critical Environmental Concern and the Grand Gulch Archaeological District, a 4,240-acre complex of prehistoric sites listed in the National Register. Thousands of additional sites likely exist as, according to BLM, the Monticello Field Office contains "large unsurveyed areas where there is no current knowledge about cultural resources;" all told, less than 10 percent of the Monticello Field Office has been inventoried.
In November 2007, BLM released a comprehensive revision to the existing resource management plan for the 1.8 million acres of federal land managed by the Monticello Field Office. When finalized, the revised plan will determine how BLM manages thousands of cultural resources in southeastern Utah for the next fifteen to twenty years. In the current version of the plan, BLM has proposed to designate nearly 2,000 miles of off-highway vehicle routes, the bulk of which have never been surveyed for cultural resources, including routes in areas known to have significant cultural resources like Arch Canyon, Alkali Ridge, and Cedar Mesa. Staff with the National Trust's law department and Mountains/Plains Office have met with BLM several times to express our concerns for this plan, and provided BLM with extensive comments on the draft plan in February 2008.
Resources
Protest of the Proposed RMP for the Monticello Field Office (Oct. 6, 2008)
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's protest of the proposed resource management plan for the Monticello Field Office.
Comments on the Draft RMP for the Monticello Field Office (Feb. 8, 2008)
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's comments on the draft resource management plan for BLM's Monticello Field Office.
