In 2015, a Republican-led commission of Utah legislators voted to file a lawsuit challenging U.S. government control of federal lands in the state. Almost a decade later, Utah’s Republican governor and attorney general are following through by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.
Federal agencies have jurisdiction over almost 70% of Utah, including nine national forests. As reported by Associated Press journalists, the lawsuit targets BLM lands, about 29,000 square miles that are used mainly for energy production, livestock grazing, mining, and recreation.
Mark Squillace, an environmental law professor at the University of Colorado, called the lawsuit “a political stunt.” He pointed to the Utah Enabling Act of 1894, through which Utah was granted statehood under specific conditions. One condition is a promise that Utah won’t make any claim on federal land.
Additionally, Squillace said, the property clause of the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government absolute authority over federal public lands.
