Trail closures threaten livelihoods and slowly limit access to ordinary families, says Dave Hellman, owner of Xtreme 4×4 Tours in Moab. Wilderness advocates argue that stronger protections are necessary to preserve fragile landscapes. As lawsuits reshape trail access across southern Utah, Moab increasingly sits at the center of a growing conflict over who public lands are really for.

Nine Mile Canyon is famous worldwide for its Fremont and Ute rock art panels, some of which are pecked ‘petroglyphs,’ while others are painted ‘pictographs.’ The canyon, home to the Fremont people and a seasonal pass-through for the Utes, preserves prehistoric pit houses, rock shelters and granaries. It’s the most concentrated rock art spot in North America.