BLM cuts livestock grazing in final Grand Staircase plan

The Bureau of Land Management reversed its proposal to return livestock grazing along some 40 miles of the Escalante River, a notion that drew fire from the groups that invested heavily in restoring the fragile desert corridor. With backing from Utah officials, the BLM previously had removed cattle from the river running through the Escalante Canyons portion of the Staircase monument and it has since become a popular hiking destination. Officials with the Interior Department and the BLM on Thursday unveiled the three management plans, one for each monument and a third for the 860,000 acres axed from the Staircase, lands now part of the reconfigured Paria River District. Garfield County commissioners said the new plan fixes “problems” with the original plan, which they maintain made it impossible to develop recreational amenities and ignored the concerns of local officials...MORE

The BLM press release has more info on all three plans.