Supreme Court won't hear Utah's lawsuit seeking to control federal land
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Monitor and Merrimac buttes near Moab. Photo: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Utah's lawsuit seeking control of 18.5 million acres of federal land.
Why it matters: State officials put on a costly campaign of TV ads and other marketing, to encourage SCOTUS to take up the case.
- If successful, the lawsuit could have upended public lands management nationally.
Driving the news: In a brief order that contained no legal discussion or rationale, the court on Monday announced that it had denied Utah's request to hear the lawsuit, rather than starting in a lower court.
The big picture: Utah's case was considered unlikely to succeed.
- Constitutional provisions give the federal government authority over public lands, and Utah promised not to try to claim federal land when it became a state in 1894, the AP reported when the lawsuit was filed in August.
Catch up quick: The lawsuit, filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office on behalf of Gov. Spencer Cox and the Republican-controlled legislature, sought state control of "unappropriated" federal lands — areas that aren't included in national parks, monuments, forests or other designations.
By the numbers: Close to 70% of Utah's land is controlled by federal agencies; the state wanted to manage about half that land.
How it works: Utah asked the Supreme Court to hear the case directly — something states can request in cases that involve them, rather than starting with a local lawsuit and working through rounds of appeals.
What they're saying: "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," Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in a statement.
The other side: "The Court's order does not say anything about the merits of Utah's important constitutional arguments or prevent Utah from filing its suit in federal district court," read a joint statement from Cox, legislative leaders and Attorney General Derek Brown.
- "Utah remains able and willing to challenge any BLM land management decisions that harm Utah," the statement said.
Flashback: Hundreds of people marched on the state capitol over the weekend to protest the lawsuit, as well as Utah's other efforts to reduce national monuments and limit federal environmental oversight.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Utah's legislative leaders.