Utah lawsuit seeks state control over vast areas of federal land

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's attorney general said Tuesday he's asked to file a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging a federal agency's control over vast tracts of public land covering about one-third of the state.

The legal action — considered a longshot attempt to assert state powers over U.S. Bureau of Land Management property — marks the latest jab in a long-running feud between states and the U.S. government over who should control huge swaths of the West and the enormous oil and gas, timber, and other resources they contain.

Federal agencies combined have jurisdiction over almost 70% of Utah.

The lawsuit seeks to assert state control over about half of that federal land — some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square kilometers), or an area nearly as large as South Carolina. Those parcels are under land bureau management and used for energy production, grazing, mining, recreation and other purposes.

Utah’s world-famous national parks — and also the national monuments managed by the land bureau — would remain in federal hands under the lawsuit.

“Utah cannot manage, police or care for more than two thirds of its own territory because it’s controlled by people who don’t live in Utah, who aren’t elected by Utah citizens and not responsive to our local needs," Reyes said.

He said the federal dominance prevents the state from taxing those holdings or using eminent domain to develop critical infrastructure such as public roads and communication systems.

University of Colorado law professor Mark Squillace said the lawsuit was unlikely to succeed and was “more a political stunt than anything else.”

The Utah Enabling Act of 1894 that governed Utah's designation as a state included language that it wouldn't make any claim on federal land, Squillace said. The property clause of the Constitution also gives the federal government absolute authority over public lands, he said.

“This is directly contrary to what they agreed to when they became a state,” Squillace said. “The courts have made a more conservative turn, but I don't think even this Supreme Court is likely to overcome the quite clear law and Constitutional provisions that would bar Utah from taking over public lands.”

The lands sought by Utah include remote areas of desert in the little-trafficked western portion of the state but also parcels near some of its most treasured parks, including Arches and Capitol Reef national parks.

Conservationists blasted the lawsuit as a threat to the red rock canyons, mesas and other natural landscapes that draw throngs of tourists to Utah.

“With today’s announcement, Utah has firmly established itself as the most anti-public lands state in the country,” Stephen Bloch with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance wrote in a social media post.

The election-year lawsuit amplifies a longstanding grievance among Western Republicans that's also been aired by officials in neighboring states such as Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming.

Utah passed a law in 2012 demanding the federal government hand over federally controlled lands by the end of 2014. When that deadline passed, state officials began drafting a legal challenge that has now come to fruition.

State leaders ultimately scaled down the original vision for a near-total federal land grab, opting to fight for just half of the federal land in the state. They say the parcels are being held by the Bureau of Land Management without designating a purpose.

“Utah’s in the best position to understand and respond to the unique needs of our environment and communities,” said Republican Gov. Spencer Cox. “We’re not trying to privatize this land. We’re actually trying to manage it in a way that will better help the environment.”

Reyes declined to reveal the expected legal expenses but said those would be less than the $14 million previously projected because the scope of the challenge was pared down, and because they’re trying to go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Brian Hires said the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

Federal lawsuits generally start in district courts before working their way up to the U.S. Supreme Court on appeals. However, the Constitution allows some cases to begin at the high court when states are involved. The Supreme Court can refuse such requests.