ST. GEORGE — More frequent fires, invasive fire-fueling vegetation and the potential threat they pose to wildlife and communities along the proposed route of the Northern Corridor were among the chief concerns of conservationists and some area residents during a recent open house hosted by the Bureau of Land Management.

Soon after the open house, Washington County announced it was suing the federal government over the potential reconsideration of the Northern Corridor right of way.

The BLM hosted the open house on June 4 at the Dixie Convention Center as part of an ongoing public comment period for a supplemental environmental impact statement focused on reexamining the previously approved right of way for the Northern Corridor through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

This review stems from a lawsuit brought by conservation groups against the federal government that says some items were not adequately addressed in the original study. The supplemental study is a result of a settlement made in that case between the conservation groups and the Department of the Interior. Washington County and the Utah Department of Transportation were not involved in that process.

“One of the resources we were asked to look at again is the impact of wildfires,” Gloria Tibbetts, district manager of the BLM’s Color County District, told St. George News during the open house.

Within the supplemental study are six alternative routes, which include the route proposed by UDOT, along with two others that also pass through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. Two other alternatives are located outside of the conservation area, while the sixth option is an overall revocation of UDOT’s application.

The public comment period for the draft supplemental study runs through June 24.

Study: More frequent fires and flammable vegetation if road built

Though the original study took wildfires and their impacts into account, it did not incorporate data from more recent fires in the area like 2020’s Turkey Farm Road and Cottonwood Trail fires that burned a combined 14,000 acres within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and overlapping national conservation area. Both fires were human-caused, authorities said.

The draft study states the right of way route proposed by UDOT “has the potential to further introduce ignition sources during construction and through daily vehicle usage and increased human activity. This would increase fire probability and likely increase fire frequency near the highway, which would again lead to an increase in noxious weeds and invasive species.”

Fires along highways can be ignited by various sources, from sparks created by loose and dragging chains to a still-lit cigarette butt carelessly thrown out of a car window.

Another concern the supplemental study notes is that native vegetation does not recover and grow as quickly as invasive species like cheatgrass after a fire. Originally found in the Mediterranean, cheatgrass is notoriously flammable and can add to the speed at which a wildfire can spread and consume an area.

As the Northern Corridor is slated to be a four-lane highway, supporters of the project, like Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow, said it could act as a fire break and easy point of access in the desert reserve for firefighters.

“Roads tend to provide a defensible position for firefighters,” Snow said.

While the supplemental study draft acknowledges these possibilities, it still warns of an increased frequency of fire within the desert reserve if the roadway is built.

“These actions may not offset the increase in fire probability and likely increase in fire frequency that would occur from constructing a road in the (national conservation area),” the supplemental study states.

The idea of a permanent fire break may also be moot if the winds are strong enough to allow a fire to jump the road.

“They make it very clear that the Northern Corridor highway route would lead to more fire frequency, more devastating fires, more hotter and faster-burning fires,” Holly Snow Canada, the executive director of Conserve Southwest Utah, told St. George News while at the open house.

This is a concern to those who worry about the continued safety and preservation of the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise for whom the desert reserve was created, as well as those living in neighborhoods that border it.

Worried homeowners

The Washington City communities of Green Springs, Warm Springs and Brio live by or near the proposed Northern Corridor. If constructed, the roadway would be an extension of the existing Washington Parkway that terminates at Green Springs Drive. It would course through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area until connecting to Red Hills Parkway.

Linda Thornell and her husband have lived in the Green Springs area for five years and experienced the mayhem wrought by the Turkey Farm Road Fire in July 2020. That fire came very close to her home and many others.

“It was so scary,” Thornell said. “When we saw the fire coming down, it was horrifying. We were ready to evacuate with my parents when it got close.”

While the area behind her home is peaceful and provides a pleasant view she’d like to keep, it is also a “fire keg right now with all the cheatgrass,” Thornell said.

Thornell and her husband were among a contingent of Washington City residents who attended the open house. They spoke of how they moved to the area to live somewhere quiet and peaceful next to the desert reserve and did not expect the possibility of that being taken away by a highway in their backyards.

“This is a peaceful area for wildlife and sightseeing,” Thornell said. “That will all be gone.”

Right of way application

Proponents of the project say the Northern Corridor is needed to help alleviate traffic congestion as Washington County continues to grow.

State and county officials and supporters of the roadway also repeatedly argue that Congress explicitly mandated the BLM to allow the county a right of way for the future road in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.

Officials said they hoped the fight over the roadway had come to an end when the Department of the Interior approved UDOT’s right of way application in early 2021. This approval was seen by proponents as the result of good faith collaboration between local and state entities and federal agencies. Millions of dollars have also been spent by Washington County and the state in an effort to prepare for the right of way’s implementation.

Zone 6

At least $5 million has gone to the creation and management of Zone 6, nearly 7000 acres of land west of St. George that has been set aside to serve as an addition to the Red Cliffs Desert Reverse. It is also meant to serve as a viable offset for the land within the reserve that would be disturbed if the Northern Corridor is constructed.

County officials say if the Northern Corridor right of way goes, so does Zone 6.

While around half of the land under Zone 6 is already under the jurisdiction of the BLM and is protected, a large chunk of the other half is owned by the Utah Trust Lands Administration. Without the protections afforded by Zone 6, the administration can sell the land. This is seen as a potential threat to preexisting recreational pursuits and viable desert tortoise habitat found within Zone 6’s boundaries.

A ‘win-win-win’

“This was a win-win-win for all parties involved,” Snow said, adding that the final agreement between road planners, conservationists and recreationists concerning the Northern Corridor “balanced all of those interests and allowed us to build the road.”

Snow said he did not agree with the data related to fires cited in the supplemental study.

County officials have also said the federal government’s potential turnaround on the Northern Corridor has destroyed the hard work and good faith fostered between local government and agencies and their federal partners.

Another lawsuit

Soon after the June 4 open house, the Washington County Attorney’s Office announced the county’s intent to sue the federal government for “improperly” starting the process to reconsider the Northern Corridor.

The lawsuit goes on the state the BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated a “no surprises” rule related to the Endangered Species Act.

The notice of intent to sue states in part:

The Notice of Intent to Sue alleges that the Service violated Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act and the Service’s “No Surprises” Rule. The purpose of the Service’s No Surprises Rule is to provide assurance that after a permittee has entered into a Habitat Conservation Plan—as Washington County has—that the Service will not require additional conservation measures without the consent of the permittee.

In violation of that rule, the Service is requiring additional conservation measures of Washington County without its consent.

… With this action, the Washington County Attorney’s Office seeks a judicial declaration that the Service and the BLM improperly reinitiated consultation for the Northern Corridor, and the resulting amended biological opinion is illegal and invalid. The County urges the Service to reissue the biological opinion for the Northern Corridor. In the alternative, the County seeks a declaration that the County is no longer obligated to perform the extensive conservation measures that were committed in connection with the process to obtain the Northern Corridor right of way.

How to comment

Comments may be submitted until June 24 through the “participate now” feature on the BLM National NEPA Register (preferred) or delivered to Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Northern Corridor SEIS, 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah 84790.

The BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service will host one in-person public meeting in St. George at a time and place yet to be determined.

For more details about the National Environmental Policy Act, visit the BLM Planning and NEPA page, contact the National Conservation Area Manager at 435- 688-3200 or email [email protected].

The final version of the supplement study is anticipated to be released in November.

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