Commenting Period Closed
Thank you for your submissions. Updates coming soon.
Commenting Guidance
Northern Corridor Highway Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Your comments in support of transportation alternatives that protect Red Cliffs are crucial!
The Northern Corridor Highway (NCH) draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is inadequate and flawed. The Bureau of Land Management’s draft EIS studies superior, environmentally-protective alternatives located outside the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA), but still identifies the Northern Corridor Highway as the preferred alternative. The DEIS did not include a thorough analysis of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts the highway will have on the residents of Washington County, and failed to show how the addition of new lands in Zone 6 could mitigate the damage. Critical data was not included, other data was hard to understand, and public concerns raised in scoping were largely ignored. Approval of the Northern Corridor Highway inside the Red Cliffs NCA cannot be based on the current DEIS.
Comment period closed.
Comments may be submitted by mail or email to:
Bureau of Land Management
Attn: Northern Corridor
345 East Riverside Drive
St. George, UT 84790
Email: BLM_UT_NorthernCorridor@blm.gov
Please email a copy of your comment to the following address as we are tracking the number of comments submitted.
save.red.cliffs@conserveswu.org
Instructions on Writing Your Comment Letter in as Little as 15 Minutes!
You will be moving back and forth between this website and an email you will create using these instructions.
- Open your email program and start a new email.
- On your email:
– Paste this email address: BLM_UT_NorthernCorridor@blm.gov into the “To:” line.
– In the “Subject line” type: Comment on the Northern Corridor Highway Draft Environmental Impact Statement
– Begin the body of the email with Dear Bureau of Land Management:
- Return to this Commenting Guidance webpage (i.e. the page where you found these instructions).
- Review the menu of the nine commenting issues listed below. Select one by clicking on the blue issue number.
- You can copy the entire Issue page or the specific bullet points on the page that are of interest to you.
- Return to your email and paste what you copied into the body of your email.
- Review all the information you have pasted into your email. Now delete unneeded/unwanted language, edit, rearrange, and add personal comments to create a comment in your own language. This is the step where you make the letter more individualized which improves the effectiveness of the letter with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
- Don’t feel like you have to add a second topic. Writing on one topic is acceptable and will make a difference.
- Close with your name and hit Send!
Tips on Writing Your Comment Letter
- Be aware that any information you share is public record so you may choose not to include specific contact information like your physical address. All letters must be signed with your name and address: physical or email address, whatever you prefer to use.
- If you have personal insights or experiences, incorporate them in your comments to demonstrate the highway’s impact on a real human being.
- Don’t be afraid to raise issues and concerns just because you cannot investigate them; it is the agency’s job to investigate alternatives.
- Voicing just your opposition to the Northern Corridor Highway will not be considered as a valid comment by the BLM. The objective is to point out how you are affected by the building of the NCH and the flaws in the DEIS that you notice.
Commenting Issues
Click on the blue, underlined link for detailed commenting guidance.
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Issue 1: The Northern Corridor Highway is inconsistent with the purpose of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
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Issue 2: The Bureau of Land Management failed to select the best alternative in preferring the Northern Corridor Highway.
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Issue 3: The precedent-setting nature of the Northern Corridor Highway has not been considered.
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Issue 4: A proposed addition to the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (Zone 6) does not mitigate damage caused by the Northern Corridor Highway.
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Issue 5: The cumulative effects are not adequately addressed.
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Issue 6: Impacts to homeowners are not adequately addressed.
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Issue 7: The Northern Corridor Highway would require that damaging changes be made to the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area’s management plans.
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Issue 8: State your preference for transportation alternatives located outside of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
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Issue 9: BLM must pause the environmental review for the NCH to issue a supplemental study of the impacts of recent devastating wildfires in Red Cliffs.