GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Monument Updates!

 

A decade of Artist-in-Residence work goes on display

KANAB, Utah (Sept. 9, 2022) - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) visitors are encouraged to stop by the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center to see 10 years of plein air paintings created by the Monument's Artists-in-Residence (AiR) throughout the past decade. The exhibit will be on display from Sept. 12 through Sept. 25, 2022, at 755 West Main St., Escalante, Utah. To learn more, visit https://on.doi.gov/3DamecU.
 

Volunteer Projects Link into Public Lands Day

1. Trash Pick-Up: BLM employees and volunteers will be picking up trash along Bulldog Bench outside of Tropic, Utah on Sept. 19, 2022. We will meet at the Cannonville Visitor Center (10 Center Street Cannonville, UT 84718) at 9:00 a.m. where participants can drive themselves or carpool to the worksite. The volunteer day is anticipated to be 4-6 hours. Please bring your own water (one gallon minimum), snacks, lunch, sun protection, boots, and work clothes. Personal Protective Equipment (trash bags, gloves, and trash reacher-grabbers) will be provided. To sign up for this project please call 435-644-1200. Project is limited to 10 participants. All ages welcome!

2. Climate Station Fencing: Come join BLM and other volunteers to rebuild an old, barbed wire fence protecting a Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Climate Station near Deer Springs on Sept. 20, 2022.  We will meet at the Paria River District Headquarters (669 S. Highway 89-A, Kanab, Utah 84741) at 8:00 a.m. where participants can drive themselves or carpool to the worksite. The volunteer day is anticipated to be 4-6 hours. Please bring your own water (one gallon minimum), snacks, lunch, sun protection, boots, and work clothes. Personal Protective Equipment (gloves, safety goggles) will be available. To sign up for this project please call 435-644-1200. Project is limited to 5 participants.

3. Climate Station Fencing: Come join BLM and other volunteers to rebuild an old jackleg fence protecting a Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Climate Station near Sheep Creek on Sept. 22, 2022.  We will meet at the Cannonville Visitor Center (10 Center Street Cannonville, UT 84718) at 9:00 a.m. where participants can drive themselves or carpool to the worksite. The volunteer day is anticipated to be 4-6 hours. Please bring your own water, snacks, lunch, sun protection, boots, and work clothes. Personal Protective Equipment (gloves, safety goggles) will be available. To sign up for this project please call 435-644-1200. Project is limited to 5 participants.

GSENM welcomes Artist-in-Residence Claire Giordano

KANAB, Utah (Aug. 30, 2022) — The Bureau of Land Management is pleased to announce the arrival of environmental artist Claire Giordano to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as the 2022 Artist-in-Residence, sponsored through a partnership between the Monument, Escalante Canyons Art Festival and Glen Canyon Conservancy. For more information, visit Grand Staircase-Escalante NM, UT | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov). 

Join us for the 2022 Escalante Canyons Art Festival - September 12-25, 2022. Come celebrate the stunning public lands of Utah’s canyon country.  Hosted in Escalante, Utah – along Scenic Byway 12 – between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks, in the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. There will be plein air competitions, art exhibits, on-site and online sales, workshops, demonstrations, arts and crafts fair, live music, guided walks, and much more.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Artist in Residence – Plein Air Program is a partnership effort of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), Escalante Canyons Art Festival, and Glen Canyon Conservancy to promote awareness through the arts of the exceptional natural and cultural treasures within the Monument.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Resource Management Plan

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Paria River District released a Notice of Intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) on July 29, 2022. For more information on the planning process, visit EplanningUi (blm.gov).

• Notice of Intent News Release - July 28, 2022
• Public Scoping News Release - Aug. 2, 2022

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Interim Management Guidance

The Bureau is providing interim guidance regarding management of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This interim management guidance will provide direction on the stewardship of these lands during the public planning effort, pending approval of a monument management plan and associated environmental impact statement, in compliance with Presidential Proclamation 10286. The Interim Management Guidance can be viewed here.

Little Desert Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Open Area

Please stay on Existing Routes in the Little Desert Off-Highway Vehicle Open Area to Protect Important Resources in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

For more information on background and map, visit Little Desert Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Open Area | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov)

Fire Restrictions!

Updated Aug. 12, 2022 - No Fire Restrictions are currently in effect. Fire restriction information can be found at BLM Utah Fire Restrictions. For more information on preventing unwanted human-caused wildfires and updates on fire related information throughout the state of Utah, visit www.UtahFireInfo.gov. You can also visit www.UtahFireSense.org for more ways to enhance your “Fire Sense” and help prevent human-caused wildfires.

Public Water Quality Advisory!

KANAB, UT ( Aug. 25, 2022) -  Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument's Calf Creek has exceeded the Utah Department of Health cyanotoxin threshold for human and animal (dogs) activity. Avoid swimming, drinking, waterplay and keep pets away until further notice. This advisory is for creek water only, culinary water is not affected.

KANAB, UT (July 22, 2022) - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument's Willis Creek has exceeded the Utah Department of Health threshold for E. Coli. Ingesting the water should be avoided until further notice. To learn more about protecting yourself, family, and friends from waterborne pathogens, visit Protect Yourself: Waterborne Pathogens - Utah Department of Environmental Quality

Monument Weather & Road Conditions

GSENM-KFO Weather Kiosk
GSENM Road Report
Additional GSENM Advisories & Alerts

Discover Your Public Lands with Junior Ranger Missions!

Explore Bureau of Land Management lands in a whole new way! 
Play virtual Junior Ranger Missions with the free educational game app: Agents of Discovery, the not-so-secret, secret agency dedicated to learning and playing outdoors.

The National Mission can be played at home - Discover Dinosaurs Mission. Ancient dinosaurs roamed our public lands long ago. Play the Discover Dinosaurs Mission to dig in and help the Bureau of Land Management protect dinosaur fossils by learning about paleontology on your public lands. (Virtual Play at Home Mission) Open Agents of Discovery app and Search: "Discover Dinosaurs - BLM Junior Ranger Mission." Learn more at Junior Ranger Missions | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov).

About The Monument

On Oct. 8, 2021, President Biden issued Presidential Proclamation 10286 restoring the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Monument now spans across nearly 1.87 million acres of America's public lands in southern Utah, and is an outstanding biological resource, spanning five life-zones - from low-lying desert to coniferous forest. When visiting, you’ll be traveling the land of the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont people, who were experts at farming this rugged land and built granaries to store what they grew. Their descendants, including people from the Hopi, Paiute, Zuni, Ute, and Navajo tribes, have strong ties to this land today, leaving behind rock art panels, occupation sites, campsites and granaries.

Stepping further back in time, fossil excavations have yielded more information about ecosystem change at the end of the dinosaur era than any other place in the world.  The Monument’s size, resources, and remote character provide extraordinary opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians, and biologists in scientific research, education, and exploration. This unspoiled natural area also remains a frontier with countless opportunities for quiet recreation and solitude.

Contact Us

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 
669 South Highway 89A, Kanab, UT 84741
435-644-1300 (Visitor Center)
435-644-1200 (Headquarters)
BLM_UT_ES_Interagency@blm.gov

Follow BLM Utah on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr @BLMUtah and on Instagram @utahpubliclands.