Utah · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Lavender Mesa
BLM found a natural system and a scenic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 649 acres and was designated October 31, 2008, in the Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The grazing allotment below isn't marked.Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Indian Creek273,010acres
The nearest areas
- Shay CanyonUtah · 119 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it7miles
- Indian CreekUtah · 3,936 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Behind the RocksUtah · 4,811 acres · 7 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it30miles
- Highway 279 / Shafer Basin / Long CanyonUtah · 12,626 acres · at least 62 active mining claims, 3 oil and gas leases, 12 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it30miles
- Mill Creek CanyonUtah · 6,725 acres · 10 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it33miles
More from BLM's Utah office
Every area BLM's Utah office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Lavender Mesa. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026