BLM Issues 2026 Raptor Avoidance Map for Indian Creek Climbing Corridor

If you're headed to Indian Creek this spring, expect seasonal closures around specific walls and crags: the Bureau of Land Management’s Moab Field Office issued a raptor avoidance map from Monticello, Utah on March 4, 2026 and said the guidance is effective immediately. The BLM asks climbers, campers and hikers to avoid known nesting habitat from early spring through late summer while biologists survey for active nests.

The avoidance list published by the BLM highlights 12 named climbing areas as high‑potential sites: The Wall, Far Side, The Meat Walls (also referenced as Second Meat Wall), Cliffs of Insanity, Public Service Wall, Disappointment Cliffs, Fin Wall, Broken Tooth, Cat Wall, Slug Wall, Reservoir Wall, and Critic's Choice. The BLM and local outlets stress that “this list serves as a guide; it does not indicate every avoidance area or encompass all known names of the affected climbing areas,” so climbers should consult the official raptor protection map and posted notices in the corridor for exact boundaries.

BLM biologists begin annual raptor activity surveys in March and typically identify active nesting areas by late April or early May; the agency’s release notes that “By late April or early May, biologists typically have identified active nesting areas. At that time, areas without active nests will be cleared for recreational use.” Where nests are active, the BLM asks the public to completely avoid those areas until the young have fledged — usually by late summer — and to “look for posted notices near crags.”

Land‑management coordination is part of this year’s guidance. The BLM is working with the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) on protections for privately administered parcels; SITLA administers portions of Disappointment Cliffs and parts of the Second Meat Wall. The BLM also reminded visitors that private landholdings exist throughout the Indian Creek corridor and to “please respect private landowners’ boundaries and signage.”

Local reporting noted a small date discrepancy: SaltLakeClimbers published a seasonal start phrased as “Beginning March 1,” but the BLM/Moab Field Office release is dated March 4, 2026 and states the request is effective immediately. Climbers should treat the March 4 BLM release as the formal announcement while heeding any field notices posted along State Route 211 in San Juan County within Bears Ears National Monument.

Looking back at recent nesting outcomes, SJRNews reported specific nest results: successful fledging at Cliffs of Insanity (a golden eagle pair) and Public Service Wall (a golden eagle pair), and one fledgling from three peregrine nestlings at The Meat Wall; unsuccessful nests were reported at Reservoir Wall (peregrine), The Wall (prairie falcon), and a Disappointment Cliffs prairie falcon nest with four nestlings that did not fledge. The BLM emphasized that “Raptor species continue to recover, thanks in part to cooperation by the climbing community,” and biologists will monitor conditions through the season while posting avoidance notices in the field.