Long story short, a 'developer' is in the process of developing (what several hundreds of Moab residents consider to be a boondoggle of a monstrosity of) a "housing [overnight & weekly rental condos, a gaggle of Tourist-Type Shops, and an assortment of McMansions available for those with a few million to spare] a "development" along the Colorado River. A year or so ago, while out photographing, by chance I met the 'developer' (he'd stopped to question why I'd parked along the county road that runs through the property he planned to develop), and in the conversation that ensued, I offered to assist and/or advise with regard to planning and preservation of the archaeological resources the setting has in abundance. As I might/should have expected at the time, despite calls and emails I subsequently made, I never heard back from the developer.

So yesterday I signed on to volunteer with the coalition who're aimed at limiting (or eliminating) the "development". I did so shortly after going in to 're-shoot' the petroglyph panel shown here.

I read through the Colorado River Comprehensive Management Plan, not word by word, because it is over 300 pages long. There was some information about cultural resources but not very much relative to total size of the report. There is some on pages 48-51 and then more on page 151. There was not much I could see about the procedures to follow when a cultural artifact is under threat. There was something about the Utah Department of Resources, referred to in the report as Utah Division of Forests, Fire & State Lands (FFSL), supposing to report to the SHPO when a matter regard cultural artifacts came up. There was also an interesting statement that SHPO recommends a new survey if the current one is more than ten years old. There was public comment on the matter. In 2018 it was at the high school where 18 people showed up. In 2019, it was at the Grand Center in Moab where the attendance increased to twenty six. There was also an opportunity for on-line and other forms of comment. The comments were broken down by commentator, general subject of discussion such as jet boats on the river, what the commentator said about the matter and the response of the commission. I looked through the subject of the comments and there was absolutely nothing about the cultural artifacts such as petroglyphs you showed. There was an image of petroglyphs along Potash road.
I wonder how much publicity there was about this comprehensive plan at the time it was being formulated.
If it is like it is around here, everything is done according to procedure, the eyes are dotted and the tees are crossed, all done properly, but quietly and then business as usual. Good luck Jim.

I don't know quite yet, but when I do I'll let you know.

For the moment, though, you might consider signing the petition against the development. As of Jan 16th County Council Meeting, over 800 Moab residents (pop. is a little over 5000) as well as some 7,000 non-residents had signed, and more have signed since then. Google 'Kane Creek Development Watch', and while you're about it, a fairly comprehensive article on the matter was posted in Moab's Times Independent (newspaper) on Jan 25th, and it's on-line, too.

Though the 'work' is only in its initial stages, enough --or quite possibly TOO much in terms of the in-progress work involved in the displacement and moving of earth-- has already been done, and there's no telling yet until I or someone conceives of and submits --and is granted-- a research permit that grants access to confidential [ARPA regulated] documentation that may (or may not) exist within what would become the 'study area', where subsurface artifacts (or etc.) potentially exist.

National Park designation can only be bestowed by an Act of Congress. A National Monument, on the other hand, can be designated by a president. Either or both is an incredibly lengthy and highly political process. Your idea isn't a bad one, to be sure, but more immediate --and more feasible-- possibilities might exist.

Please don't take me wrong, Sinew, but.... I'll have paid the final mortgage payment I'll have to make (on the $6.7 Mil McMansion I want built to my specifications, and in the particular spot I've chosen, up on scenic 'Mastodon Bench' where not only will I be above (some) of the traffic noise, I'll have a sprawling overview of the Mini-Mall the developer is incorporating into his "Kane Creek Massacre & Goat Roping Nightly-Rental Estate Show") before I convince any of my national-level............

Then again.... Don't want run the risk of getting this post tucked up into the Attic for mis-characterizing a Mastodon as being a Bear.