Project Name: West Yellow Cat Paleontological Excavation

NEPA Number: DOI-BLM-UT-Y010-2026-0036-EA

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Project Information

NEPA Number

DOI-BLM-UT-Y010-2026-0036-EA
Project Name

West Yellow Cat Paleontological Excavation
Project Type

EA
NEPA Status

In Progress - Decision and Appeal Period
Lead Office

Moab Field Office
Last Updated

7/28/2026 5:00:00 PM

Project Description

Dr. Josh Lively of the Prehistoric Museum, Utah State University Eastern (USU), requested a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) paleontological resource excavation permit to excavate and remove fossils from an existing locality in the West Yellow Cat area (UGS Locality Number Gr0528) within the Cedar Mountain Formation. The locality is located on BLM-managed land within the Moab Field Office (MFO) and is in the Yellow Cat area in Grand County, Utah, 1.2 miles north of Arches National Park. 

The Proposed Action would include the removal of overlying soil and rock with small hand tools and occasional rock saws and pneumatic drills. Under the supervision of Dr. Lively, the work would be completed by crews of 4 to 12 paleontologists, students, and volunteers over several weeks on an annual basis. A field camp would be located about 500 feet to the east of the locality. All fossils discovered would be documented, collected, and accessioned into the USU Museum in Price, Utah. Approval of this project would permit paleontological excavations and camping to occur in the project area for the next 10 years by Dr. Lively and any other authorized permittee.

What's New

This website provides the latest information on this project. Throughout the NEPA process, this website will be updated to include background documents, maps, meeting announcements, published bulletins, and other documents as applicable. For instructions on how to navigate and use this site, visit the question mark icon in the upper right corner on the home page.

BLM will use the NEPA project listing to ePlanning to satisfy the public involvement requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C 306108) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and cultural resources within the area of potential effect for this undertaking will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.

How to get Involved: To express comments or concerns regarding this project, please contact the appropriate field office staff, listed on the right side of this page.

Project Location

City	State/Territory	Zip Code	County(ies)
Moab	Utah	84532	Grand

Application Information

Applicant

Dr. Josh Lively
Program

Paleontology

Project Dates

Start Date

6/4/2026
Decision Date

7/29/2026
NEPA Completion Date

7/29/2026
FONSI Date

7/29/2026

Project Office Information

Lead Office

Moab Field Office
Offices

Moab FO

Contacts

Contact 1 Name

Nicole Flint
Contact 1 Email

[email protected]
Contact 1 Phone

(435) 259-2164

Contact 2 Name

Keri Nelson
Contact 2 Email

[email protected]
Contact 2 Phone

(435) 259-2111

Contact 3 Name

Emily Lessner
Contact 3 Email

[email protected]
Contact 3 Phone

(435) 259-2117