U.S. Supreme Court squashes Utah's public lands lawsuit

KUNC | By Rachel Cohen
Published January 13, 2025 at 9:20 AM MST



The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday stopped Utah’s long-shot public lands lawsuit in its tracks. It's the latest rejection in a decades-old fight to turn control of federally managed lands over to states.

Public lands advocates quickly celebrated. They worried that allowing Utah’s case to move forward would threaten to upend the management of 200 million acres of public lands across the West, potentially giving way to the sale of public lands to private entities.

“We’re grateful the Supreme Court swiftly rejected the State of Utah’s misguided land grab lawsuit. For more than 100 years, the Supreme Court has affirmed the power of the federal government to hold and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans,” said Steve Bloch, the legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The organization filed its own lawsuit against state leaders in district court, arguing Utah’s claims violate the state constitution.

More:
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/2025-01-13/u-s-supreme-court-squashes-utahs-public-lands-lawsuit