{"id":2328247,"date":"2024-08-21T10:11:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-files-lawsuit-to-reclaim-state-control-over-public-lands\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T10:18:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:18:42","slug":"utah-files-lawsuit-to-reclaim-state-control-over-public-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-files-lawsuit-to-reclaim-state-control-over-public-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah Files Lawsuit To Reclaim State Control Over Public Lands"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futah-files-lawsuit-to-reclaim-state-control-over-public-lands%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2328247&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Utah \u2062has initiated a \u200dlawsuit to regain control \u200bover\u200b public lands in the state that are currently under federal jurisdiction. State officials, including Governor Spencer Cox, have expressed frustration over the extensive federal\u200b control, which limits \u200dlocal management and \u200cdevelopment opportunities for Utah&#8217;s natural\u200c resources. They are asking\u200b the Supreme Court to examine the federal government&#8217;s \u200bauthority to indefinitely hold what they term &#8220;unappropriated&#8221; lands\u2014those without designated uses. \u2063As \u2064of\u200d now,\u200b more than 60% of\u200c Utah&#8217;s \u2063land is federally controlled, a situation exacerbated by recent expansions of national monuments under President Biden.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit highlights a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/julio-rivera-cyber-warfare-in-2022-espionage-hacking-for-profit-and-infrastructure-attacks\/\" title=\"Julio Rivera: Cyber Warfare 2022: Espionage and Hacking-for Profit.\">long-standing conflict<\/a> between \u200bwestern states and the federal government regarding land usage, as local communities seek to engage in activities like timber \u2064harvesting and energy development that federal bureaucrats often obstruct. The state aims to take control of\u2062 approximately 29,000\u2062 square miles of public property,\u2063 comparable in size \u2063to South Carolina or\u200b Maine. \u2062The case underscores broader issues of state sovereignty and federalism, with state officials arguing that current federal policies violate constitutional limits \u2062on federal\u2063 land ownership.\u200c As debates continue over housing shortages and land use, the state is\u200b grappling with potential future\u2064 actions from the federal government that\u2063 could further \u2064restrict\u200c land\u200d availability.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Utah filed a lawsuit aimed at reclaiming authority over public lands within the state that remain under the jurisdiction of federal bureaucrats who have no plans to turn them over for local oversight.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, state officials <a href=\"https:\/\/attorneygeneral.utah.gov\/utah-files-landmark-lawsuit-challenging-federal-control-over-most-blm-land\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> their request for the Supreme Court to review the federal government&rsquo;s authority to hold unappropriated lands indefinitely, a practice that has frustrated western communities in areas hamstrung from development by burdensome restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is not a secret that we live in the most beautiful state in the nation,&rdquo; Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. &ldquo;But, when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-exhausts-supply-of-monoclonal-antibody-treatment-effective-against-omicron\/\" title=\"Texas Exhausts Supply of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Effective Against Omicron\">federal government controls<\/a> two-thirds of Utah, we are extremely limited in what we can do to actively manage and protect our natural resources.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>More than <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Federal_land_ownership_by_state\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">60 percent<\/a> of Utah remains under federal authority, with President Joe Biden claiming more through the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/13\/why-joe-bidens-expansion-of-bears-ears-national-monument-is-an-aggressive-land-grab\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">controversial expansion<\/a> of two major national monuments early in the administration. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under Biden has also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/19\/new-blm-rules-on-conservation-leases-will-fundamentally-transform-public-land-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">established<\/a> a framework to approve third-party leases of federal property for &ldquo;conservation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&rsquo;s legal effort underscores a decades-long tension between western states and the federal government, as they wrestle over control of vast land areas. For years, locals have sought permission to utilize the land for harvesting timber, oil, and gas, grazing animals, and pursuing other opportunities, but Washington bureaucrats have blocked their efforts. The lawsuit filed by Utah raises issue with &ldquo;unappropriated&rdquo; land held by the Bureau of Land Management, noting that 34 percent of &ldquo;total state territory&rdquo; is unappropriated land under federal control.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to appropriated lands such as national parks, monuments, and forests, land that is &ldquo;unappropriated&rdquo; describes property the government is simply holding without any designated use.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nothing in the text of the Constitution authorizes such an inequitable practice,&rdquo; said Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. &ldquo;In fact, the Framers of the Constitution carefully limited federal power to hold land within states. Current federal land policy violates state sovereignty and offends the original and most fundamental notions of federalism.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While unappropriated lands are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blm.gov\/about\/what-we-manage\/national\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">supposed<\/a> to be made available under the Bureau of Land Management&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blm.gov\/about\/our-mission\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">multiple use mandate<\/a>,&rdquo; Gov. Cox complained the agency &ldquo;has increasingly failed to keep these lands accessible and appears to be pursuing a course of active closure and restriction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is time for all Utahns to stand for our land,&rdquo; he said. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#129525; 1. Would you want the U.S. government controlling 70% of the land in your state? If you&rsquo;re tempted to say &ldquo;yes,&rdquo; stop and consider what this arrangement does to Utah. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/X5hpRNAi8Q\">https:\/\/t.co\/X5hpRNAi8Q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/1825970086307573912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The state&rsquo;s lawsuit wants to claim control over roughly 29,000 square miles of public property, a region <a href=\"https:\/\/statesymbolsusa.org\/symbol-official-item\/national-us\/uncategorized\/states-size\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly<\/a> as large as South Carolina or Maine. Republicans on Capitol Hill are now trying to open up federally managed lands to build new homes amid a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/home-economics-is-the-us-missing-2-million-houses-or-20-million\/\" title=\"US housing shortage: Are 2 million homes missing, or 20 million?\">nationwide housing shortage<\/a>, but are facing <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/15\/bidens-land-grab-crusade-thwarts-bipartisan-efforts-to-develop-housing-on-federal-land\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headwinds<\/a> from the Biden administration demanding a narrower scope of available property opened for construction.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers are meanwhile bracing for the lame-duck president to claim millions more acres of public lands under even stricter protections through the Antiquities Act, the same law used to rope off areas of southern Utah surrounding Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments from any chance of development.<\/p>\n<p>The 1906 Antiquities Act was first used by President Theodore Roosevelt to designate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/deto\/planyourvisit\/placestogo.htm#:~:text=Devils%20Tower%20National%20Monument%20is,and%20the%20visitor%20center%20hub.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1,300<\/a> acres surrounding Devil&rsquo;s Tower in Wyoming as a protected national monument. The law has since been exploited by Democrats to create quasi-national parks with land restrictions far beyond the &ldquo;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-aims-to-reform-antiquities-act-block-federal-land-grabs\/\" title=\"GOP Aims To Reform Antiquities Act, Block Federal Land Grabs\">smallest area compatible&#038;rdquo<\/a>; with protecting &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/blog\/americas-public-lands-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">specific natural, cultural or historic<\/a>&rdquo; relics as mandated under congressional statute. Earlier this year, President Biden expanded two national monuments in California by more than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/05\/06\/what-they-are-saying-president-biden-expands-san-gabriel-mountains-national-monument-and-berryessa-snow-mountain-national-monument\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">120,000<\/a>&nbsp;acres, an area larger than the state&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/lavo\/planyourvisit\/park-brochure.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lassen Volcanic National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Antiquities Act is now the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/24\/western-republicans-ramp-up-urgency-to-reform-antiquities-act-and-block-invasive-federal-land-grabs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">target<\/a> of House Republicans eager to reform the 1906 law before future administrations leverage the Oval Office for aggressive land grabs. Western Caucus Vice Chair Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, told The Federalist in July, however, that new monument protections &ldquo;do tend to happen at the end of Democrat administrations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Utah has initiated a lawsuit to regain control over public lands in the state that are currently managed by federal officials, who have no intention of transferring oversight to local authorities. On Tuesday, state representatives revealed their appeal for the Supreme Court to examine the federal government&#8217;s power to indefinitely retain unappropriated lands, a situation that has caused frustration among western communities hindered by restrictive regulations on development. &#8220;It&#8217;s well-known that we live in one of the most beautiful states in the country,&#8221; stated Utah Governor Spencer Cox. &#8220;However, with two-thirds of Utah under federal control, our ability to effectively manage and safeguard our natural resources is severely restricted.&#8221; Over 60% of Utah&#8217;s land is federally controlled, with President Joe Biden expanding this through controversial additions to two major national monuments early in his term. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under Biden has also set up a system for approving third-party leases on federal land for conservation purposes.<\/p>\n<p>This legal action highlights an ongoing conflict between western states and the federal government regarding land management. For years, local residents have sought permission to use these lands for activities like timber harvesting and grazing but have faced opposition from Washington bureaucrats. The lawsuit challenges the BLM&#8217;s management of &#8220;unappropriated&#8221; land\u2014defined as property held without any specific designated use\u2014pointing out that 34% of Utah&#8217;s total territory falls into this category.<\/p>\n<p>Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes argued that there is no constitutional basis for such practices and emphasized that current federal policies infringe upon state sovereignty and contradict fundamental principles of federalism. Although unappropriated lands should be accessible according to BLM\u2019s multiple-use mandate, Governor Cox criticized the agency for increasingly restricting access instead.<\/p>\n<p>The state&#8217;s lawsuit seeks control over approximately 29,000 square miles of public land\u2014an area comparable in size to South Carolina or Maine. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are pushing for greater access to federally managed lands amid a nationwide housing crisis but face resistance from the Biden administration which favors limited availability for construction projects.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers are also preparing for potential actions from President Biden aimed at designating millions more acres as protected under stricter regulations via the Antiquities Act\u2014a law historically used by presidents like Theodore Roosevelt since its inception in 1906\u2014to create national monuments with extensive restrictions beyond what was originally intended by Congress.<\/p>\n<p>House Republicans are now targeting reforms related to this act before future administrations can utilize it aggressively again; however, Western Caucus Vice Chair Celeste Maloy noted that new monument protections often emerge towards the end of Democratic presidencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2328248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/17015877372_fa80d3e6be_k-e1724244771199.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4585,38786,38787,5764],"class_list":["post-2328247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-lawsuit","tag-public-lands","tag-state-control","tag-utah"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/17015877372_fa80d3e6be_k-e1724244771199.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2328247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2328248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2328247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2328247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2328247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}