Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
“To preserve outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.”
2 live lawsuits, 2 comments to the agencies, 92 cents of every dollar to the work.
The origin
How they started
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has one obsession: defending Utah’s redrock from oil and gas, off-road vehicles, and road claims. Citizen activists founded it in 1983 after the BLM lowballed the state’s wilderness-quality land by roughly five million acres. Its signature push is America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, first introduced in 1989 and reintroduced every Congress since, and SUWA fought hard over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
Where the money went, FY2024
The work, and what it cost
Wilderness
$3.4M, 58% of spendingDistributed prepared bulletins and researched wilderness topics. Examined laws and policies that control these resources and provided information gained to the public.
Including $873,961 granted onward, most of it ($850,000) to Stewardship Utah Foundation.
Read it as they filed it
WILDERNESS Distributed prepared bulletins and researched wilderness topics. Examined laws and policies that control these resources and provided information gained to the public. Facilitated citizen engagement with state and federal governmental agencies to educate decision-makers. Maintained and grew external communications with public through social media campaigns. Engaged with news media to educate the public and further build public support.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Off Road Vehicle ORV
$1.1M, 18% of spendingResearched the legal framework for the ORV issue, performed on-the-ground surveys of ORV routes and use, and assessed agency compliance with federal statutes.
Read it as they filed it
OFF ROAD VEHICLE ORV Researched the legal framework for the ORV issue, performed on-the-ground surveys of ORV routes and use, and assessed agency compliance with federal statutes. Educated the public, media and decision-makers on the potential impacts of ORV use on natural and cultural resources on public lands, and various feasible and reasonable solutions.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Energy
$322K, 6% of spendingResearched issues related to federal approvals for oil and gas development, public health and environmental protection.
Read it as they filed it
Researched issues related to federal approvals for oil and gas development, public health and environmental protection. There was an emphasis on issues related to air and water quality, wildlife habitat and special emphasis areas. Tracked leasing of public lands for oil, gas and coal and determined where sensitive values may be compromised by this leasing. Summarized and provided this information to the public through paper and electronic medium.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
92 cents of every dollar goes to the work
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$5,325,741 programs, $260,185 management, $192,762 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Scott Groene, who drew $185,874 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at SUWA? Claim this page.
Those 338 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If SUWA is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
And 6 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Fights alongside National Parks Conservation Association (4 shared cases), Center for Biological Diversity (3 shared cases), Earthjustice (2 shared cases), Friends of the Earth (2 shared cases) and Grand Canyon Trust (2 shared cases) and 17 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $1,933,354 |
| 2012 | $2,257,622 |
| 2013 | $2,974,638 |
| 2014 | $3,457,351 |
| 2015 | $3,411,912 |
| 2016 | $3,513,166 |
| 2017 | $5,410,215 |
| 2018 | $5,366,086 |
| 2019 | $6,400,506 |
| 2020 | $5,578,015 |
| 2021 | $8,874,385 |
| 2022 | $4,451,167 |
| 2023 | $5,318,667 |
| 2024 | $12,670,430 |
From $1.9M in 2011 to $12.7M in FY24, with no missed filing in 14 years. FY24 is the highest year on file.
On the Hill
SUWA has hired federal lobbyists: 4 filings in 2026. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on natural resources.
The record
On the record with the agencies
2 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov, none yet on a decision we track. Read them on regulations.gov.
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1983Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is formed.the return, formation year
- 20002000 to 2024: 9 cases filed, all since closed: Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. U.S. Department of Interior; State of Utah v. Haaland and 7 more.the docket
The other 7
2024, State of Iowa v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2021, Southern Utah Wilderness v. DOI, closed; 2020, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Bernhardt, settled; 2020, Alaska Community Action on Toxics v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2017, S. Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Burke, closed; 2004, Utah Ass’n of Counties v. Bush, won; 2000, Utah Ass’n of Counties v. Clinton, won.
- 2022Garfield County v. Biden: intervenor, still in court.the docket
- 20242 comments, one to the Bureau of Land Management and one to the National Park Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 2025BlueRibbon Coalition Inc v. Bureau of Land Management: intervenor, still in court.the docket
Rust, a case still in court. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 11 federal cases with the group on the docket, 2 comments filed under its own name. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
Utah’s wilderness watchdog, defending these canyons since long before the monument existed
Who’s defending it On the ground · On this place: 1 case in federal court, filed 2017Grand Staircase-EscalanteHas defended the Escalante canyons since before the monument existed
Who’s defending it Leading the fight · On watchGreen River (Flaming Gorge to Colorado)Sued BLM in August 2024 to void 51 reaffirmed oil and gas leases in the San Rafael Desert, including one in the heart of the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness carved by the Green River.
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance files 3 related organizations on its return: Rup INC (501c4), Rural Utah Project Education Fund (501c3) and Stewardship Utah (501c4). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
The Utah congressional delegation averages 3 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themVolunteer days and projects, on the ground.
suwa.org ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowFollow themBears Ears and Grand Staircase, tracked as they move. Alerts when it matters.
Monument WatchStand with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.