Saving Utah's Red Rock Wilderness

l-r: Jeff Gahris, Tom Kocim, Mike Ander,
Rep. Casten, Connie Schmidt, Bobbie Kocim,
and Clayton Daughenbaugh

By Bobbie Kocim

Tom and I have had the opportunity to explore the spectacular Red Rock Wilderness of Utah as vacationers and as volunteers for Sierra Club Service trips over a span of 10 years. We benefited greatly from the dedicated Rangers and local area Scientists whose shared mission  was to immerse visitors in the historic, archaeological, cultural, environmental, and recreational value intrinsic to these remarkable canyonlands found nowhere else.

This January, IL Senator Richard Durbin reintroduced the America's Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA) in the Senate aimed at protecting over 3 million acres. With the potential for the reintroduction of a companion House bill this spring, we met with Congressman Sean Casten from Illinois's 6th Congressional District this January. We were accompanied by a passionate contingent including constituent Aquatic Biologist Mike Anders, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance-Midwest Representative Clayton Daughenbaugh, Sierra Club River Prairie Group Chair Jeff Gahris, and Sierra Club IL Chair Connie Schmidt. Congressman Casten genuinely embraces the effort to preserve these stunning Public Lands and is committed to protecting them by co-sponsoring this legislation. He looks forward to working with SUWA and the Sierra Club on this mission to preserve our Red Rock inheritance.

Update: The Red Rock Wilderness Act (H.R. 5775) was reintroduced in the 116th Congress on February 8, 2020.