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SALT LAKE CITY — The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said federal land managers cannot indefinitely postpone carrying out an inventory of cultural resources — such as Native American artifacts — in south-central Utah.

"This region is home to an abundance of archaeological resources — including caves, rock shelters and rock art — that provide a window into the lives of the early inhabitants of the Colorado Plateau," said Kevin Jones, former Utah state archaeologist, adding that 4,000 miles of dirt roads and trails used by off-road vehicles compromise the resources.

In May 2015, a federal judge in Utah ordered the Bureau of Land Management to complete an on-the-ground survey of the cultural resources in the 2.1 million acres of land between Canyonlands and Capitol Reef national parks.

The BLM requested a delay of those surveys, but the request was rejected in a ruling last week.

"This is an important decision from the 10th Circuit," said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "In practical terms, the ruling means (the) BLM can no longer delay following federal historic preservation laws which require the agency to 'look before it leaps,' and determine what irreplaceable cultural resources in the Richfield field office are at risk from off-road vehicle use."

The Richfield land-use plan is one of six — covering more than 11 million acres — adopted at the end of the Bush administration. All plans have been challenged in court by environmental groups, but the Richfield plan is the first to be litigated.

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