Project Name: Designating Backcountry Airstrips in the Canyon Country District

NEPA Number: DOI-BLM-UT-Y010-2026-0025-EA

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Project Information

NEPA Number

DOI-BLM-UT-Y010-2026-0025-EA
Project Name

Designating Backcountry Airstrips in the Canyon Country District
Project Type

EA
NEPA Status

In Progress - Public Review and Comment Period
Lead Office

Moab Field Office
Last Updated

08/19/2026 - 12:00 AM

Project Description

The BLM proposes to designate nine backcountry airstrips within the Canyon Country District as OHV - Limited to Aircraft Only and authorize maintenance of one airstrip situated on designated route D0025.  Five of the proposed backcountry airstrips are in the Moab Field Office and include: Big Flat, Playa, Potato Ridge, Spring Canyon, and Steer Ridge. Four of the proposed backcountry airstrips are in the Monticello Field Office and include: Castle Creek, Nokai Dome, Piute, and Red Canyon. The Wee Hope Airstrip utilizes route D0025 and would be maintained to a width that would accommodate parking and turning around of aircrafts.  All of the airstrips were previously constructed and are currently in sporadic use. All of the airstrips are in areas managed as “Limited to Designated Routes”.  

Each of the airstrips is listed below, including its length, width, and total acres of existing disturbance.
Airstrips in the Moab Field Office
Big Flat (2 runways)	Runway 09-27 = 2,670 feet long, 60 feet wide/3.68 acres of existing disturbance
                                Runway 06-24 = 2,330 feet long, 70 feet wide/3.74 acres of existing disturbance;
Playa --	1,930 feet long, 40 feet wide/	1.77 acres of existing disturbance
Potato Ridge --2,000 feet long, 40 feet wide/1.84 acres of existing disturbance
Spring Canyon --1,540 feet long, 70 feet wide/2.51 acres of existing disturbance
Steer Ridge--	2,475 feet long, 60 feet wide/3.41 acres of existing disturbance
Airstrips in the Monticello Field Office
Castle Creek --1,800 feet long, 80 feet wide/	3.3 acres of existing disturbance
Nokai Dome --2,200 feet long, 60 feet wide/	3.0 acres of existing disturbance
Piute Canyon --1,700 feet long, 60 feet side/	2.34 acres of existing disturbance
Red Canyon --	1,970 feet long, 100 feet wide/4.52 acres of existing disturbance
Wee Hope --	2,000 feet long, 60 feet wide/Co-located on D0025, which is designated in the Monticello RMP Travel Plan for OHV use/2.75 acres

A wind sock would be erected at each of the airstrips.

Maintenance of the designated airstrips would only occur as needed.  Only the designated access route to the airstrip would be used by maintenance vehicles. At the Steer Ridge, Spring and Big Flat locations, the UBCP/RAF requests the use of a skidsteer with attachments in order to remove the woody sage which impedes safe landings and takeoffs.  The BLM would supervise this maintenance, which would be conducted by the UBCP/RAF and is expected to take only one day at each of the three airstrips.  At all of these airstrips, only one “plane lane” and a parking spot at the end large enough to accommodate one plane would be subject to vegetation removal. The remaining acreage of the original airstrip would remain vegetated.

At the Big Flat location, only one of the runways (09-27) requires sage removal to keep the sage to under 8 inches tall.  A truck with a drag could be used effectively, although a skidsteer with attachments would be more efficient.  As the Spring Canyon location, a skidsteer with attachments would be used to pull up the three foot high big sage which makes safe landing at this location impossible.  At the Steer Ridge Airstrip, a skidsteer with attachments would be used to remove the big sage that is growing in the airstrip.

In subsequent years, the UBCP/RAF requests to use a truck with a drag (as needed) at nine of the proposed airstrip locations (Steer Ridge, Spring Canyon, Big Flat, Potato Ridge, Castle Creek, Nokai Dome, Piute, Red Canyon and Wee Hope), as well as the use of hand tools to remove rocks and incidental vegetation.  The Wee Hope location would be marked by a sign alerting OHV’s travelling on D0025 that the roadway is an active airstrip.

This type of maintenance (a truck with a drag) is projected to occur approximately once every five years for approximately one day per airstrip. There would be no use of any mechanized or motorized equipment at the Playa location at any time.  All maintenance using any mechanical equipment would be coordinated with the Moab or the Monticello BLM Field Manager.

Conditions of Approval
•	The Potato Ridge and Playa Airstrips would not be utilized from March 1 through August 31 to protect ground nesting birds (ferruginous hawk and burrowing owl) and pronghorn fawning. If a qualified biologist determines that there are no nesting ferruginous hawks or burrowing owls within one-half mile of the Potato Ridge or Playa airstrips (using the USFWS survey protocol), then the timing restriction (March 1 through August 31) could be lifted for that year, with the approval of the BLM biologist. The exemption to the timing restriction would not apply to the May 1 - June 15 period, which is imposed for pronghorn fawning. These use restrictions would be posted on the UBCP’s website, which has information about the Potato Ridge and Playa Airstrips.
•	The Piute and Nokai Dome Airstrips would not be utilized from April 1 to June 15 to protect desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat. These use restrictions would be posted on the UBCP’s website, which has information about the Piute and Nokai Dome Airstrips. 
•	There would be no maintenance (surface disturbance using motorized or mechanical equipment and/or vegetation removal by any means) of any of the nine airstrips (with Wee Hope being an exception) from March 1 through July 31 to prevent disturbance to migratory birds during nesting season.
•	Prior to maintenance actions, all vehicles would be washed to avoid the spread of noxious weeds and invasive species.
•	After any maintenance action involving vehicular access to an airstrip, all vehicle tracks would be obscured so that non-authorized vehicles do not utilize the access route.

What's New

8/19/2026: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for a 15 day public comment period.

The BLM is requesting review and feedback from interested and affected parties. Your comments will help identify issues, refine alternatives, and improve the analysis.

Accessing the Draft EA

Visit the Documents tab on the project’s ePlanning site to view or download the full Draft EA.

How to Submit Comments (Due by end of the day September 3, 2026)

The most helpful comments provide specific, relevant information that can meaningfully inform the analysis or shape the range of alternatives. Comments may be submitted via the ePlanning Project Page (this website). During the 15 day comment period there will be a column titled “Participate”, click on the “Participate Now” link and follow the instructions.

8/6/2026: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is re-considering the recent decision and updating the project. The BLM will have more to share in the coming weeks.

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)
Thompson	Utah	84540	Grand

Application Information

Program

Recreation and Visitor Services
Sub-Program

Trails and Travel Management

Project Dates

Start Date

4/21/2026

Project Office Information

Lead Office

Moab Field Office
Offices

Moab FO, Monticello FO

Contacts

Contact 1 Name

Jill Stephenson
Contact 1 Email

[email protected]
Contact 1 Phone

(435) 259-2141

Contact 2 Name

Kathleen (Katie - Moab) Stevens
Contact 2 Email

[email protected]
Contact 2 Phone

(435) 259-2172

Contact 3 Name

Nicole Flint
Contact 3 Email

[email protected]
Contact 3 Phone

(435) 259-2164