Oil spill contaminates drainage in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Friday, October 6, 2023

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; Credit: BLM/Flickr

An oil spill in Utah contaminated a drainage that runs through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument last month. The spill happened September 13, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

As of September 22, the accident had spilled 163 barrels of oil and 6,430 barrels of contaminated water, according to Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality. Cleanup is ongoing, according to the Washington Post.

“Within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, impacts have occurred within a heavily vegetated rocky canyon that is difficult to access and thorough cleanup efforts are expected to take time,” the BLM told the Post.

The spill originated outside the national monument on U.S. Forest Service land but made its way onto BLM land inside the monument, according to The Insider, the local news outlet which first reported the story. The oil and water mixture ran into Willow Creek and Alvey Wash, which are located within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Rain may have helped push the oil and produced water down the drainage.

Happy Indigenous People's Day

Look West will be off to observe Indigenous People's day on Monday. There's a lot to celebrate this year, including President Joe Biden's recent designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument at the behest of Native American Tribes. If you haven't read the proclamation establishing the monument, this is a good time to do so. And if you want to learn more about Tribal co-management of public lands, check out this report by the Congressional Research Service published earlier this year.

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                            Quote of the day
                        

When it comes to adding Indigenous voices and expanding the time frame for Indigenous peoples in the Americas, there is still a lot of racism and bias in American archaeology.”

—Paulette Steeves, Indigenous archaeologist at Algoma University, W a shington Post

                            Picture This

                        

@usinterior

In Southeastern Utah lies a stunning geological formation that rises dramatically from the flat desert landscape — Factory Butte Recreation Area. This diverse landscape shows off Earth's history in a way that few other places do.

The area draws adventurers, geology enthusiasts and nature lovers from around the world who come to witness its captivating beauty. Managed by @mypubliclands, the area is popular for off-road vehicle riding, mountain biking, hiking and photography.

Photo by Mitch Warnick

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