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Bill
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America's Red Rock Wilderness Act

H.R. 2467 · 119th Congress · Mar 27, 2025 · Lineage

A BILL

To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States.

Section 1 Short title; table of contents

(a)
Short title— This Act may be cited as the “America's Red Rock Wilderness Act”.
(b)
Table of contents— The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 2 Definitions

In this Act:
(1)
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management.
(2)
State— The term State means the State of Utah.

Sec. 3 Findings

Congress finds that—
(1)
the land designated as wilderness by this Act is one of the largest remaining expanses of unprotected, wild public land in the continental United States;
(2)
the designation of wilderness by this Act would—
(A)
increase landscape connectivity in the Colorado Plateau; and
(B)
help to mitigate the impacts of climate change by—
(i)
providing critical refugia;
(ii)
reducing surface disturbances that exacerbate the impacts of climate change;
(iii)
reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to the extraction and use of fossil fuels; and
(iv)
contributing to the goal of protecting 30 percent of global land and waters by 2030;
(3)
the land designated as wilderness by this Act is—
(A)
a living cultural landscape;
(B)
a place of refuge for wild nature; and
(C)
an important part of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community values;
(4)
Indian Tribes have been present on the land designated as wilderness by this Act since time immemorial, using the plant, animal, landform, and spiritual values for sustenance and cultural, medicinal, and ceremonial activities, purposes for which Indigenous people continue to use the land; and
(5)
the designation of wilderness by this Act—
(A)
is vital to the continuation and revitalization of Indigenous cultures; and
(B)
serves to protect places of Indigenous use and sanctuary.

Sec. 4 Purposes

The purposes of this Act are—
(1)
to designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States;
(2)
to protect the cultural, ecological, and scenic values of land designated as wilderness by this Act for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of present and future generations of people in the United States; and
(3)
to protect the ability of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to use the land designated as wilderness by this Act for traditional activities, including hunting, fishing, hiking, horsepacking, camping, and spirituality as people have used the land for generations.