Trump White House sued over plan to blast Utah’s famed cliffs to make way for oil truck highway

The Trump administration plans to blast famed cliffs in eastern Utah that contain historic inscriptions to make way for an oil-transporting highway, and are now being sued over the project. Conservation groups filed a lawsuit last week against the Bureau of Land Management and its parent agency, the Interior Department, in a Utah federal court, claiming that its decision to allow Duchesne County officials to destroy the cliff walls of Gate Canyon violated several environmental and cultural preservation laws. Gate Canyon is home to 47 historic sites and a “broad range” of wildlife, including the threatened Mexican spotted owls, according to the lawsuit. In the 19th century, Black soldiers carved their names in the walls of Gate Canyon and European pioneers used axle grease to make their mark.“This lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s disgraceful plan to transform a quiet backcountry road into a highway clogged with speeding oil tanker trucks,” Deeda Seed, senior Utah campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release.The Trump administration has been sued over its plan to blast famed cliffs in eastern Utah that contain historic inscriptions to make way for an oil-transporting highway (Ray Bloxham/SUWA)The Center for Biological Diversity, the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance have joined forces to sue the administration, months after the Bureau of Land Management gave the green light to pave Gate Canyon.The plan to blast Gate Canyon to make an alternative truck route to the Uinta Basin oil fields was approved by the Bureau of Land Management in April. The conservation groups claimed it was a “rushed” decision and hidden from the public. “In the words of Joni Mitchell, the BLM has approved the 'paving of paradise.' But instead of putting in a parking lot, the BLM has given its OK to the building of a highway to carry crude oil from the Uinta Basin to Carbon County,” J. Michael Hansen, president of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, said in the press release. “It's like constructing a highway through the Louvre Museum."Conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management and its parent agency, the Interior Department, claiming that its decision will destroy the cliff walls of Gate Canyon (Getty Images)The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The Bureau of Land Management has declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing “pending litigation.” President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a “Drill, baby, drill” promise, has expanded domestic oil and gas production by reversing regulations, unleashing millions of acres of federal land and approving more than 6,000 drilling permits. Trump said in a recent proclamation, “This month, we pledge to continue to chart a bold new course for American energy — harnessing the extraordinary abundance beneath our soil and securing a future of strength, prosperity, and independence. “Our Nation’s energy renaissance is only just beginning, and the best is still yet to come.”