Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging a plan to blast cliff walls in Utah's Gate Canyon to construct a highway for oil trucks. The lawsuit contends that the project, approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will destroy at least 47 historic sites, including inscriptions by 19th-century Black American soldiers and European pioneers.
The proposed paved road would replace a dirt track through Gate Canyon, a tributary of the renowned Nine Mile Canyon. Conservationists argue that this development would not only obliterate historical inscriptions but also create a busy oil highway through Nine Mile Canyon, which the Bureau of Land Management describes as the world's longest art gallery. Nine Mile Canyon contains the largest concentration of Native American rock art in the United States, with over 1,000 art sites and more than 10,000 images, some dating back to prehistoric times.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Utah, also asserts that the cliffs targeted for blasting are a habitat for threatened species, including the Mexican spotted owl. The plaintiffs, which include the Center for Biological Diversity, allege that the BLM's approval of the road project, proposed by Utah's Duchesne County, violated federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act. According to the 50-page complaint, the BLM "rushed its April 2026 decision to approve the blasting and paving of Gate Canyon and hid that process from the public."
Historically, Black U.S. Army soldiers carved their names into the Gate Canyon walls while building its current road. Freighters and pioneers also left inscriptions using axle grease. The lawsuit draws parallels to a recent judicial block on the Trump administration's border wall construction in Texas's Big Bend National Park, another case where environmental groups challenged federal projects.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, the parent agency of the BLM, declined to comment due to the pending litigation. The project aligns with a broader policy push to expand domestic oil and gas production by speeding up permits and reducing environmental regulations.