Public Lands

“Utah remains able and willing to challenge any BLM land management decisions that harm Utah,” state leadership said in a statement.

The high court on Monday refused to let the GOP-controlled state file a lawsuit seeking to bring the land and its resources under state control. The decision came in a brief order in which the court did not explain its reasoning, as is typical.

Utah believes it should have ownership over some federally managed land, but environmentalists argue the move backpedals on the agreement that made Utah a state.

Since 1906, all but three presidents have used the Antiquities Act to protect unique landscapes and cultural resources. Biden has signed off on six monuments and either restored or enlarged boundaries for a handful of others during his term.

Grouse numbers plummeted in recent decades because of drilling, disease and other pressures.

While Utah House Republican leadership remains unchanged, GOP lawmakers opted to shuffle the deck in the Senate.

The Northern Corridor Highway alternative route chosen by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would avoid building a new road through prime Mojave Desert tortoise habitat.

A 3-2 vote on Thursday by Wyoming's top five elected officials ends decades of threats to sell the square-mile parcel to the highest-bidding private developer. The land has been a bone of contention between the state and federal officials for decades.

The Wilderness Act, passed in 1964, gave Congress the authority to designate wilderness areas. It led to the establishment of many popular outdoor recreation areas, including the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, and Flat Tops Wilderness, where the idea first began.

Democrat Caroline Gleich, Independent American Carlton Bowen and Republican John Curtis clashed on a wide range of issues including Curtis’ record in Washington, public lands and immigration.

Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah has been at the center of political fights over public land in recent years. The upcoming presidential election threatens to continue escalating that tug-of-war.

From conflicts of interest to public lands ownership to social media, four candidates for attorney general presented their case on why they should be Utah’s leading lawyer.