Thousands of acres of federal land now open for coal leases are adjacent to Utah national parks

Snow dusts the scene at Zion National Park. Photo: Visit Utah.

Environmentalists worry what the action will mean for landscapes in southern Utah

UTAH – An initiative of Congress’ spending package known as the “big, beautiful bill” started becoming a reality last week, leaving environmentalists with deep concerns about the future landscape of national parks.

The map of 13.1 million acres of federal land now available for coal leasing triples the benchmark set by the law and includes parcels near or directly adjacent to landmarks like Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef national parks, an analysis from groups including the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance found.

“The Trump Administration views Southern Utah’s remarkable redrock country as just another place to exploit and plunder as they promote new coal mining. Nothing could be further from the truth. America’s national parks, national monuments, and wild public lands don’t deserve this fate and we’ll work tirelessly to stop it from happening,” Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in a news release.

About 48,000 acres of federally-owned land in Utah are available for coal-mining operations, a big step in the Trump administration’s plan to increase energy production in the country, particularly fossil fuels.

According to the analysis, an almost 12,000-acre parcel available for coal leases is directly adjacent to the west side of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and south of Bryce Canyon.

Mining in the area could affect the water that feeds tributaries of the Paria River, Jacqualine Grant, executive director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, said in a statement.

There are also parcels on the east side of Zion National Park, including a portion of the North Fork of the Virgin River and North Fork Road, the analysis says. Public land bordering scenic roads like state Highway 89, also known as Utah Heritage Highway, and the Mount Carmel Scenic Byway would also be available for lease in the area.

East of Capitol Reef National Park, the Bureau of Land Management is also offering an approximately 2,000-acre piece of land for leases, the environmentalists said.

The Department of the Interior, however, argues that opening the land for lease, along with lowering royalty rates to 7%, will help strengthen supply chains and the country’s energy security.

“President Trump promised to put American energy workers first, and today we’re delivering,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a news release. “By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing coal acres available for leasing, and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy, protecting national security, and ensuring that communities from Montana to Alabama benefit from good-paying jobs.”

Lease sales are already happening across the country, according to the release. Together, they add hundreds of millions of tons of coal.

The agency is also spearheading efforts to recover minerals like uranium, zinc, germanium, tellurium and rare earth elements from mine waste and abandoned sites.

Story written by Alixel Cabrera for Utah News Dispatch