Administration
The area is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Although the Swell as a whole does not currently enjoy special protection, parts of it are protected as wilderness study areas. Cattle grazing is only allowed in parts of The Swell that are not designated as such. The San Rafael Swell is also dotted with sections of land managed by The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, as is much of the state of Utah. Goblin Valley State Park is on the southeastern edge of the San Rafael Swell.
In 2002, then-governor Mike Leavitt of Utah proposed the creation of a San Rafael Swell National Monument. President George W. Bush, who had authority to create such a monument under the Antiquities Act, never acted on Leavitt's proposal. As of 2012, nor has Barack Obama.
The idea of federal designation of the San Rafael Swell as a National Monument resurfaced in 2010 in a Department of the Interior document.
Read more about this topic: San Rafael Swell