Utah’s Federal Land Lawsuit

Photo: Pedro Szekely/Flickr

The State of Utah has filed a lawsuit directly with the United States Supreme Court, questioning the constitutionality of the federal government’s ownership of 18.5 million acres of land within the state. This is the latest in a long line of moves by Utah to gain ownership of federal lands within its borders.

According to KSL.com, Utah governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, said at a press conference announcing his “Stand For our Land” initiative, that “Utah is absolutely committed to keeping public lands in public hands and locally controlled.”

Utah’s lawsuit argues that the Bureau of Land Management doesn’t have constitutional authority to hold 18.5 million acres of land without using it for a designated purpose. The lawsuit calls this “unappropriated land” and wants the Supreme Court to rule directly, instead of working the issue through lower district courts first. This lawsuit would not call for ownership of national forests, national parks, national recreation areas, national monuments, or wilderness areas. It focuses exclusively on 18.5 million acres the BLM has not designated a current use for.

The lawsuit states “Nothing in the Constitution authorizes the United States to hold vast unreserved swathes of Utah’s territory in perpetuity, over Utah’s express objection, without even so much as a pretense of using those lands in the service of any enumerated power.”

Utah would like access to this land to exercise eminent domain for infrastructure, telecommunications, and transportation projects, as well as to perform its own fire mitigation and animal control activities.

A Utah state government website was created to give more information on the Stand For our Land initiative, including an FAQ section. That is the only place where recreation, and potential private ownership of currently public land, is addressed.

The FAQ section reads that “Should Utah acquire these lands, the state will manage them for multiple uses: to balance recreation, wildlife habitat, and conservation with other responsible uses such as energy production, livestock grazing, and sustainable resource development.”

Under the FAQ heading “Will the land be sold to the highest bidder if the federal government disposes of them?” the answer states:

“The state is committed to keeping public lands in public hands and available to all Utahns and visitors of all ages and abilities to be managed for multiple uses for current and future generations.

“The state statute prohibits the privatization of public lands except in rare circumstances. (Utah state Code, Title 62L, Chapter 8)

“The state encourages Utahns and visitors to support public lands being managed locally by the state of Utah.”

Criticism of the plan was swift after its announcement.

According to KSL.com, Aaron Weiss, the deputy director for the Center for Western Priorities, made a statement that said, in part, “130 years ago, the people of Utah agreed to ‘forever disclaim all right and title’ to national public lands when Utah became a state. … The property clause of the Constitution gives Congress, and only Congress, authority to transfer or dispose of federal lands. That’s the beginning, middle, and end of this lawsuit.”