In April of this year, Utah filed a landmark lawsuit against the federal government that challenges whether or not the government can hold unappropriated lands within a state indefinitely.
The land in question is nearly 19 million acres in Utah, which the Bureau of Land Management controls under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Thus, the federal government controls over 70 percent of Utah’s land. However, in states like Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the government controls less than 1% of the state’s land.
“It is not a secret that we live in the most beautiful state in the nation. But, when the federal government controls two-thirds of Utah, we are extremely limited in what we can do to actively manage and protect our natural resources,” said Gov. Spencer Cox. “We are committed to ensuring that Utahns of all ages and abilities have access to public lands. The BLM has increasingly failed to keep these lands accessible and appears to be pursuing a course of active closure and restriction. It is time for all Utahns to stand for our land.”
Federal response to lawsuit
Nearly six months after Utah’s initial filing, attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Utah’s motion. They cited the state’s failure to meet the criteria that would allow a petition directly to the national high court.
Federal lawyers take issue with Utah invoking original jurisdiction, which allows states to petition directly to the Supreme Court rather than starting in a lower court and going through the appeals process. However, to do that, the issue needs to be between a state and the federal government.
Utah claims the federal government lacks the constitutional power to hold land in perpetuity. Utah is looking for a precedent to be set and has asked the Supreme Court to declare the practice of holding unappropriated lands unconstitutional. The federal government says that contradicts the constitution’s supremacy clause, which states federal law takes precedence over state law.
How will it end
Neither the state of Utah nor the federal government will be backing down from their stances, which will inevitably lead to a court decision being made. Unfortunately, cases like these often take a while to reach a ruling, so it may be exceptionally long before a final decision.
Author: Chevy Blackburn
Photo courtesy of Zoshua Colah
Copy Editor: Isaac Allen
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