KSJD Local Newscast - August 20, 2024

In an effort to gain control of Bureau of Land Management lands within its borders, the State of Utah has filed a lawsuit directly with the U.S. Supreme Court. The suit asks the court to weigh in on whether the federal government can legally maintain control of what Utah officials call “unappropriated lands.” At a press conference Tuesday that was aired live, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes voiced concerns about how road closures and resource management on BLM lands, which make up about 34 percent of Utah. Reyes and Cox noted that many states back East have very little federal public land. Cox said Utah officials don’t want to privatize the land, just to manage it differently. The deputy director of one conservation advocacy group scoffed at their statements. Aaron Weiss of the Center for Western Priorities told KSJD by phone that he is skeptical about the lawsuit’s chances. He said if it should succeed, Utah could not afford to keep the land, as management costs would bankrupt it. Weiss said, “The notion that you could dispose of national public lands, make them state land, and then keep them open to the public is a fever dream. The ultimate outcome would be to sell off the land for trophy homes on the edge of Zion and Moab.”