Utah’s Moe’s Valley Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Southern Utah climbers have battled to save the historic bouldering area of Moe’s Valley for years. Now, their work is coming to a head: Just west of St. George, near Zion National Park, a housing development could destroy access to over 430 bouldering problems.
This land of sandstone boulders isn’t only beloved by local and visiting climbers. The endangered area—known as “Zone 6”—also offers trails for mountain biking and hiking. Most critically, this fragile desert ecosystem is also the habitat for at-risk Mojave desert tortoises, which have been considered a threatened species since 1990.
The crux of this predicament? To prevent that from happening, climbers, mountain bikers, and conservationists must choose to rally behind what they deem the lesser of two evils.
Housing or highway?
Currently, the area where Zone 6 lies is owned by the Utah Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). Managing over three million acres across Utah, SITLA exists “to enhance the value of trust lands and maximize economic return for our beneficiaries.” Primarily, these returns benefit public education across Utah. This independent state agency creates those economic returns through activities like resource extraction and real estate development. Now, it plans to develop the Tonaquint housing project across Moe’s Valley and Zone 6.
Ironically, a highway, of all things, might be what saves this bouldering area from becoming a real estate project. The state of Utah is building a new four-lane highway to reduce traffic in the St. George area. And the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) wants to route this highway—known as the Northern Corridor—through BLM lands north of Zone 6.
Consequently, a land swap has been proposed between SITLA and the BLM: The BLM gives up its Northern Corridor lands to the state for highway construction. In exchange, SITLA lets its Zone 6 holdings become public lands. UDOT, for its part, is in favor of the deal. It sees the Northern Corridor as the only viable route for its highway, after careful consideration of other options.
Of course, climbers and conservationists have tried in vain for over a decade to secure permanent protection for both the Zone 6 area and the Northern Corridor area. Conservationists in particular don’t want to yield any land where at-risk desert tortoises live. But after fighting for years, the coalition has come up empty. Now, they choose one of two complicated scenarios to advocate for:
- The BLM provides the right of way for the road. In exchange, SITLA swaps its Zone 6 lands with the BLM, protecting Zone 6 and saving Moe’s Valley. Around 6,800 acres constituting become part of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
- The BLM does not let UDOT build the highway across its proposed path. SITLA retains Zone 6 and begins building housing across Moe’s and surrounding desert tortoise habitat.
“Unfortunately, nobody has been able to come up with a solution that saves both Moe’s Valley and the Northern Corridor,” explained Katie Goodwin, Western Regional Director and Policy Analyst with Access Fund. “We’re just between a rock and a hard place.”
Since 2018, Access Fund has been involved in the effort to protect Moe’s Valley. The national organization has partnered with local groups, including the Southern Utah Climbers Alliance (SUCA) and the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) to work toward solutions.
The St. George Climbers’ Coalition (SGCC) also joined the fight to protect Zone 6 soon after it formed a little more than a year ago. Fallon Rowe, vice president of SGCC, admitted that the issue is “really complicated.” Rowe has been climbing at Moe’s for nearly a decade, and has lived in the St. George area for about five years.
“We feel really stuck,” said Rowe, who lives just a mile from Moe’s. SGCC partners with conservation groups, which have sued over the Northern Corridor project. A desert tortoise biologist even sits on her organization’s board. “But we’re also climbers and we want recreation. It’s a complex issue and there’s a lot more at stake besides climbing.”
What climbers stand to lose
“I believe I was the first person to start bouldering there in the late `80s,” Todd Perkins, president of SGCC, told Climbing of his connection to Moe’s Valley. He explained that the name references the rock quality in comparison to central Utah bouldering zone Joe’s Valley. “In other words, it’s like Moe’s bar in The Simpsons, the dive bar of bouldering areas in rock quality,” Perkins joked. “But it definitely cleans up.”
Perkins would know. He established dozens of problems around Moe’s. However, he often didn’t name or grade problems, since he primarily bouldered as training for sport climbing. According to Perkins, photographer Jorge Visser started coming to the area in the early `90s. In the early aughts, Perkins says a local crew “rediscovered” the area and gave it its name. America Ninja Warrior Isaac Caldiero, of all people, has established many of the harder problems of Moe’s.
These days, the accessibility and year-round appeal of Moe’s are part of what make it such an invaluable destination for climbers. Supe Lillywhite, who manages local gear shop The Desert Rat, says it would be “heartbreaking” to lose the area to development. Born and raised in the area, he’s been climbing at Moe’s Valley for around 23 years.
“The biggest thing that makes Moe’s Valley so unique is that it’s really exceptional, world-class bouldering and it’s so close to town,” Lillywhite said. With 300 days of sunshine a year, adventurers can also enjoy Moe’s nearly year-round. Even in summer, climbers and mountain bikers come to Moe’s to climb or ride early before it gets too hot.
Lillywhite expressed his enthusiasm for the plan on the table to swap land and preserve Zone 6. He hopes that visiting and local climbers alike will make their voices heard in advocating for the deal. Ultimately, he wants to avoid the “tragedy” of losing the resource right in their backyard.
Not just bouldering—what else is on the line?
“There’s a lot more than bouldering in Zone 6,” said Rowe, who had gone on a trail run through Moe’s the morning Climbing spoke with her. “We have other crags in that area that are jeopardized as well.”
Zone 6 includes two single-pitch climbing areas with a variety of sport and trad routes that Rowe said are “fairly popular” with local climbers and beyond. Green Valley Gap has over 70 sport, trad, and toproute routes, ranging from 5.6 to 5.12. The smaller Zen Wall offers mostly harder sport climbing and great views. Mountain bikers and hikers could also lose 65 miles of non-motorized trails.
“People travel here from all over the world to climb,” Goodwin with Access Fund explained. In addition to advocating for the state to consider the conservation benefits of preserving Zone 6, Access Fund also calls upon the BLM and the state of Utah to take into account the health and economic benefits of these recreational resources.
Some level of bouldering and trails might continue to exist alongside the Tonaquint project. However, a map from SITLA shows housing units going directly over or adjacent to bouldering spots. Goodwin shared that even if all boulders weren’t directly bulldozed over, climbers would face significant challenges in accessing the area.
Lastly, and perhaps most critically, Zone 6 is home to the endangered tortoise, which will lose habitat no matter what the BLM decides. In a summary of its comments to the BLM, Access Fund, SUCA, and SLCA called Zone 6 one of the “most densely populated habitat for desert tortoises range-wide.” Gila monsters and endangered Dwarf Bear Poppy flowers also inhabit Zone 6.
What climbers can do to save Moe’s Valley
The BLM is accepting public comments on whether to provide right of way to UDOT to build the Northern Corridor through November 3. Advocating in favor of a highway through BLM land may seem counterintuitive to some public lands advocates. But this is the stance Access Fund, SUCA, and SLCA have taken since allowing for the highway will secure protection for Zone 6, including Moe’s and tortoise habitat.
Wondering whether SITLA is “just bluffing”? As Goodwin with Access Fund puts it, the housing development is already moving forward in earnest. Last December, she says “a chunk of land near Moe’s Valley was put up for bid and developers are already breaking ground.” But the BLM-SITLA land swap would bring land sales and construction to a halt.
“Without that land swap, unfortunately, the future for that zone is really hard to predict,” Goodwin told Climbing. Some have asked Access Fund why they can’t attempt to purchase the land. But Moe’s Valley spans over 6,000 acres, valued at over 550 million dollars. Even national land trusts, let alone Access Fund, wouldn’t be able to afford it. If the land swap doesn’t go through, Goodwin said there’s one last “Hail Mary.” Climbers could try to negotiate easements and buy sections of Zone 6 in between housing units.
You can learn more about the comment period, including a link to the BLM’s comment portal and suggested comment text from Access Fund, here.
The BLM will not be engaging with comments until after the government shutdown ends. But Access Fund recommends filing any comments prior to the November 3 deadline. Anything submitted after the stated deadline could be disqualified from consideration.
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