Frequently asked questions

Greater Moe's Valley is the recreation landscape just southwest of St. George that includes the Moe's Valley bouldering area, the Zen Trail, Green Valley Gap, and the Bear Claw Poppy trail system. Most of it lies within Zone 6 of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve - roughly 6,800 acres added to the Reserve in 2021.

Not permanently. Zone 6 was added to the Reserve as part of a deal tied to the Northern Corridor Highway. Its protected status is linked to that deal - and much of the land is state trust land that can still be sold or developed, so “in the Reserve” does not mean permanently safe.

Zone 6 is a mix. Roughly half (about 3,341 acres) is state trust land managed by the Utah Trust Lands Administration (TLA, formerly SITLA); much of the rest is federal land stewarded by the Bureau of Land Management.

By law, Utah's trust lands are managed to generate revenue for beneficiaries - primarily public schools. Because of that mandate, TLA can lease or sell parcels for development to produce revenue, regardless of whether the area is in the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP is a species-management framework; it doesn't change the underlying ownership or the trust's revenue obligation.

In 2021, Zone 6 was added to the Reserve as mitigation in exchange for a right-of-way to build the ~4.5-mile Northern Corridor Highway through the Red Cliffs NCA. The two are legally linked: if the highway deal unwinds, the protection tied to Zone 6 can unwind with it - which is why a road and a bouldering area ended up in the same fight.

It's complicated, and groups differ. The core goal of local advocates is to permanently protect Greater Moe's Valley - ideally without sacrificing the Red Cliffs NCA to a highway. Some see the highway as the current mechanism keeping the land protected; others push for protection through other means, such as a state park or buying out the trust's interest.

If approved: Zone 6 would, for now, stay in the Reserve - and advocates would push to make that protection permanent. If rejected: the deal that placed Zone 6 in the Reserve could be nullified, and TLA has indicated it would move to develop or sell the Moe's Valley land to meet its revenue mandate.

Federal agencies reapproved the highway in January 2026; conservation groups sued in February 2026; and in March 2026 a federal court issued a preliminary injunction pausing construction while the case proceeds. See the News & timeline for the full record, and note this is actively changing.

Sign the petition, submit a comment to the BLM, and - most powerfully - contact your local leaders. Start with the Contact your leaders page, and consider supporting the Southern Utah Climbers Alliance and Access Fund.