St. George • Washington County is suing federal agencies for failing to uphold the Trump administration’s approval of the Northern Corridor Highway, a four-lane artery that would cut through 4.5 miles of prime Mojave desert tortoise habitat in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
County officials filed the lawsuit in Utah’s U.S. District Court on Tuesday, accusing the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Bureau of Land Management of conducting a flawed analysis and acting illegally to effectively nix approval for the highway proposed for north of St. George.
Suits and countersuits
In January 2021, the Trump administration approved the right-of-way for the Northern Corridor Highway, triggering a lawsuit from Utah and national environmental groups that accused the Department of Interior and the BLM of violating federal law, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.
In response, the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the latter a part of the Interior Department, reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in which they admitted some problems with the initial environmental impact study. That prompted a federal judge to put approval of the highway on hold so the agencies could conduct a supplemental environmental study to reexamine the road and its impact on the Mojave desert tortoise, which is federally listed as threatened.
In May, both federal agencies released a draft copy of the supplemental study, which found putting a highway through the national conservation area could result in the spread of more noxious weeds, spark more wildfires and put Mojave desert tortoises and other endangered species in further jeopardy.
In suing the federal agencies, county officials say the agencies’ decision for further analysis via a supplemental study violated their own rules, saying there was no new information, additional species listed or other considerations that would warrant putting the project on hold.
“They ignored the regulatory triggers that would allow for the reconsideration, and instead stated that the only justification for the reconsideration was a back-room deal with environmental groups,” Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said in a news release.
County officials further allege in the suit that the federal agencies violated Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, as well as the FWS’s “No Surprises Rule,” by requiring the county to continue to comply with conservation commitments that were required before the Northern Corridor was put on hold.
Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act allows a private citizen to impose on a listed species, such as the Mojave desert tortoise, provided they develop a habitat conservation plan to offset the impact.
The No Surprises Rule, meanwhile, provides assurances that once a habitat protection plan has been finalized, Fish and Wildlife will not require additional conservation measures, expenses or restrictions beyond what is outlined in the plan without a permittee’s consent.
‘A slap in the face’
According to county officials, the federal government’s initial approval of the road led Washington County to spend $6 million in taxpayer dollars to meet the agencies’ “extensive environment requirements.” The state, meanwhile, spent $8.5 million on the Northern Corridor.
“The Biden administration’s attempt to now revoke that approval is not only unlawful but is also a slap in the face to our county’s citizens,” Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow stated in the release. “We refuse to stand idly by. There needs to be legal consequences. That’s why we have filed this lawsuit.”
Holly Snow Canada, executive director of Conserve Southwest Utah, agrees taxpayers are being victimized but insists the county, not the federal government, is the perpetrator.
“This lawsuit is the latest attempt by Washington County to force a highway where it doesn’t belong,” Snow Canada told The Salt Lake Tribune via email. “Viable alternatives exist that would be a better use of taxpayer funds, but for over 15 years, Washington County leaders have clung to the proposed route as the only option, doing a disservice to local residents who have been vocal in their opposition to the highway, [to] wildlife and all who visit the congressionally designated Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.”
The Red Cliffs NCA is part of the 69,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, which was created in 1996 to recover desert tortoises at risk from development. Administration of the reserve is a collaborative effort between the county and federal agencies — part of a compromise that protects 61,000 acres of public land for desert tortoises in exchange for opening up 3,000 acres of tortoise habitat on public and private land outside the reserve for development.
As initially proposed, the 4.5-mile North Corridor Highway would cut across the conservation area and link Red Cliffs Parkway on the west with Washington Parkway near Interstate 15 on the east. It is aimed at reducing traffic congestion in and around St. George by 15% during peak travel hours.
County officials assert the highway would only impact between 40 and 50 tortoises, while environmentalists counter the negative impact would be closer to 350 adult tortoises, in addition to juvenile tortoises. Conservation groups further insist the road will lead to more wildfires.
Deal or no deal
When the Northern Corridor was initially approved in 2021, the county — as part of a deal with the federal government — acted to offset the impact of the highway by modifying its conservation plan to create a new protection zone and add it to the reserve. The 6,800-acre zone, which is located west of Bloomington and is separate from the rest of the reserve, is evenly split between the BLM and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.
If the Northern Corridor is scrapped, Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist warns, it will spell the end of the road for the new protection zone because half the land would revert back to SITLA, which would be obligated to sell it to make money for Utah schools.
“Much of this land will be sold for development if the prior plan’s approval is undone, leading to permanent habitat destruction, and ultimately the decimation of hundreds of desert tortoises and thousands of endangered dwarf bear-poppy plants,” Almquist said in the release.
Environmentalists accuse the county of fearmongering, arguing half of the zone is BLM land that is already protected for conservation, and that there is nothing to prevent SITLA from selling the remainder to developers. Moreover, they insist much of the tortoise habitat in the zone has already been degraded or trashed by dirt bikers, off-highway vehicle users, target shooters and debris from illegal dumping.
Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said it is disappointing that county officials have chosen to sue rather than embrace a less damaging way to ease traffic congestion.
“This protected conservation area is home to amazing desert tortoises, distinctive local plants and other rare wildlife,” Anderson said. “It’s a natural refuge for people in this growing urban area, and we’ll continue fighting to keep it whole and wild.”
For their part, county officials insist they will keep fighting for the highway. They are asking the court to declare the federal agencies acted improperly to initiate further review of the Northern Corridor and require them to remedy the violation in a reasonable time.
They are further seeking the court to reinstate the original 2020 biological analysis of the road, force the federal government to reimburse the county for its legal expenses, and free the county from complying with any additional requirements imposed under the amended habitat conservation plan until approval for the highway is reinstated.
Snow Canada, meanwhile, decries what she calls the county’s “single-minded focus” on building “the destructive highway.”
“... Washington County is trying to revive what has proven to be a failed and widely unpopular approach, which hinges on ignoring the science and the law and forcing an unnecessary and unworkable high-speed highway through a national conservation area,” she said. “We should expect more from our elected representatives.”
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