401 E Gay St
West Chester, PA 19380
USA
Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection and the Sierra Club of Southeastern PA invite you to join us to participate in our program:
SAVING UTAH REDROCK WILDERNESS by Travis Hammill, Eastern Grassroots Organizer, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA)
There’s nothing quite like the natural wonders of Utah with its vast network of canyons, steep snow-covered mountain slopes, unique monuments in the middle of open landscapes, and a rich cultural history in the cliffs and valleys. Much of the land in Utah is public land, managed by the federal government so as to be accessible for everyone to enjoy. Utah is unique; the state has more than 9 million acres of land that qualify as “wilderness” lands, which mean they are pristine, untrammeled areas that should be protected and preserved for generations.
Unfortunately, multiple existential threats to wilderness are poised to prevent these amazing areas from being preserved, and could destroy access to and the quality of these public lands. Mineral mining, oil and gas drilling leasing, oil-shale production, potash production, off-road vehicle use, privatization and closure, and vandalism are serious threats to wilderness lands. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) works to galvanize wilderness advocates and activists to protect their public lands in Utah from these threats. This is not just a Utah problem for two reasons; one, these are public lands, meaning they are managed by the federal government and held in trust for the American people, and two, it is part of a larger story of maintaining the many ecological and climate-buffering functions provided by wild public lands. The confluence between the “Keep it in the Ground” movement and protecting America’s redrock splendor is massively important to protecting our planet.
Travis Hammill
Travis Hammill is the Eastern Grassroots Organizer for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), a wilderness advocacy organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah that works to protect public lands from a myriad of threats that could decimate the natural qualities of these lands. Travis is stationed in SUWA’s Washington, DC office and organizes activists in the eastern states. He also works closely with SUWA’s legislative team, roaming the halls of Congress and ensuring that every American is able to access their lands.