A proposed four-lane highway, known as the Northern Corridor, would run through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (or NCA) north of St. George. The Red Cliffs area was designated as a national conservation area in 2009 to protect the habitat of the Mojave Desert Tortoise, an endangered species native to the region.
Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said the highway was provided for in the original documentation establishing the NCA.
“When it created the NCA, Congress also said, 'Okay, BLM, you got three years, go figure out where to put a road, work with the city and the county, and see where this should go,'” Clarke said.
In January 2021, President Trump’s Secretary of the Interior approved a right-of-way for the road. Holly Snow Canada, executive director of Conserve Southwest Utah, said the decision was rushed through without proper environmental analysis or public input.
“And this was after decades of it being denied by the Bureau of Land Management, by experts and agency scientists saying that that the highway was incompatible with why this area was protected in the first place, and that it would be biologically devastating to the Mojave Desert Tortoise,” Snow Canada said.
In June 2021, Conserve Southwest Utah and several other local and national conservation organizations sued the US Department of the Interior to challenge the approval of the Northern Corridor right-of-way. In response, the BLM conducted a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement process and held a period of public comment to reevaluate the decision. Comments were submitted by the public throughout the summer of 2024. When contacted, the BLM disclosed that 4,255 comments were submitted during this period but declined to comment further.
Lin Hokana is a resident of Washington County and president of the Southwest chapter of Backcountry Horsemen of America. He opposes the Northern Corridor right-of-way because it would disrupt the landscape and eliminate several trails in the Red Cliffs area.
“I've been to many of the public meetings about it, seeking input or sharing information. And there's other alternatives that make more sense,” Hokana said.
Snow Canada said the BLM has identified 5 possible transit solutions that could address growing traffic in St. George. One of these is the original right-of-way, and two of them do not pass through the NCA at all.
“The hopeful thing is that Washington County's own traffic analysis has identified other alternatives that are actually better at alleviating traffic concerns and are cheaper to build,” Snow Canada said.
In August 2024, Washington County sued the BLM. Clarke said the BLM illegally amended the biological opinion to omit mentions of the Northern Corridor.
“BLM gave the state a right-of-way that says, ‘You have a right to go put a road in over there.’ To do that, that had to be supported by a biological opinion. But now they've taken that biological opinion away. So the state still holds a piece of paper, but it's like a zombie right-of-way, because it's not supported by the analysis of saying, How does this impact things?” Clarke said.
Clarke said the biological opinion supporting the Northern Corridor right-of-way included plans to mitigate the impact of the highway on desert tortoises by adding another area, known as Zone 6, to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.
“So when the Biological Opinion supporting it goes away, we're like, oh, well, then you just did away with Zone 6, right?” Clarke said.
Losing Zone 6, Clarke says, would be a net harm to tortoise recovery efforts.
Hokana said the quality of Zone 6 does not compare to the beauty and recreation opportunities in Zone 3, the area where the Northern Corridor right-of-way would be built.
“it's just not a fair trade off, and it’d actually be better off as it is now,” Hokana said.
Snow Canada says there is a discrepancy between what the community wants and what Washington County officials are pushing for.
“Every time we've had a comment period, we've seen thousands of comments pour in from local community members who want to protect this place and our fantastic open vistas and scenery,” Snow Canada said.
Clarke said one of his personal goals is to conserve big blocks of open space as St. George continues to grow.
“I think that that's the nature of our community, and it's important for us. We can't stop growth, we can't put signs up and say, don't move here. But we've done a better job at spreading things in a way that there's chunks of open space throughout that,” Clarke said.
Snow Canada said Conserve Southwest Utah aims to balance growth and economic development with conservation and stewardship.
“Our vision is really to protect our area’s natural and cultural resources as we continue to grow as a community. And we want to be able to grow in a smart way that cares for these resources, and that acknowledges that they are finite,” Snow Canada said.
