Utah takes federal government to court over control of land

The state of Utah wants the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its lawsuit against the federal government.

At issue is the federal government’s control of unappropriated lands, lands that Utah says the federal government is holding indefinitely.

The federal government controls nearly of 70% of the land in Utah. In states such as Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island, it is less than 1%. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Maine, the federal government holds less than 3%.

In a news release announcing his state’s lawsuit, Gov Spencer Cox said Utah is “extremely limited” in what it can do to manage and protect its resources.

“We are committed to ensuring that Utahns of all ages and abilities have access to public lands,” said the governor. “The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has increasingly failed to keep these lands accessible and appears to be pursuing a course of active closure and restriction.”

The land Utah said is unappropriated is just over 18 million acres or 34% of land in the state. Utah stressed that the lawsuit will not impact millions of acres designated already as national forests, monuments, parks, military properties, Tribal lands, or wilderness areas.

The decision did not come without serious thought. Utah said it filed the lawsuit after “decades” of analyzing the law.

“It is time for all Utahns to stand for our land,” said the governor.

Attorney General Sean D. Reyes said the Constitution is on Utah’s side, adding that nothing in the text grants the federal government the power to indefinitely hold unappropriated lands inside a state.

“In fact, the Framers of the Constitution carefully limited federal power to hold land within states,” said Reyes. “Current federal land policy violates state sovereignty and offends the original and most fundamental notions of federalism.”

The Court’s term begins Oct. 7.