A Message From Our CEO
"In the history of ill-advised plans and underhanded schemes to squander the public lands legacy shared by all Americans, Utah officials may have just eclipsed the rest of the bunch. In August, the State of Utah filed a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court to wrestle 18.5 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) away from its rightful owners, the American people. If transferred from federal jurisdiction to Utah, the state’s own track record shows that real estate developers, land barons, and the extractive industry would benefit at our collective expense.
Utah’s case may ultimately undermine the very notion that federal agencies can own and manage land, a privilege that has benefitted generations of outdoor enthusiasts in every corner of our country. I am one of those beneficiaries.
More than 30 years ago, I found my way to some of the wild places nestled within the federally owned lands in Utah. As an enthusiastic young sportsman, my experiences there helped nurture an enduring conservation ethic and fed my passion for hunting and fishing. Now at the helm of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), I find a meeting of past and present, and a fight at BHA’s doorstep.
BHA was founded on the premise that our public lands are far too valuable to be privatized, compromised, or leveraged in political games. This latest threat by the State of Utah contains all three toxins – a recipe fatal to the integrity of public ownership. And the stakes are incredibly high, not just for conservation-minded hunters and anglers, but for any American who values the natural, cultural, and historic heritage intrinsic to these shared resources. This includes our Utah chapter. These battle-hardened volunteers remain committed to defending our public lands and waters against Utah officials’ ceaseless attempts to take public lands out of public hands.
Utah’s latest land grab targets a fuzzy category of “unappropriated” BLM lands, meaning, in the eyes of Utah officials, there is no designated purpose. However, these lands DO serve a purpose – for many of which is public hunting and fishing access – not to mention the authority granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution to oversee federal land is incredibly broad; There’s no distinction among management prescriptions or federal agencies. If successful, Utah’s lawsuit not only threatens to dictate the outcome for all 210 million acres of similarly defined BLM lands found across the western states but could have irreversible repercussions for publicly owned federal lands across our country.
It’s not just the far-reaching implications of the Utah lawsuit that’s so galling; this new attempt to seize control of federal lands represent an even more sinister and polished gaslighting campaign than previously attempted. Anyone who might stumble across the State of Utah’s web-based propaganda, billboards, or press conference video of Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes might be swayed by the catchy notion that public lands in Utah would be better managed by the State of Utah.
Let’s be very clear: these are not Utah’s lands. They belong to every American. And we ALL have a stake in how these lands are managed. And let’s not forget, this is a retread of past efforts by the State of Utah. Following a failed state legislative effort in 2012 to seize control of federal lands by 2014, former Representative Jason Chaffetz (UT) introduced federal legislation in 2017 to sell off more than 3 million acres of public lands. With a resounding backlash from hunters and anglers, Chaffetz withdrew the bill and back-pedaled at break-neck speed. Undeterred, Senator Mike Lee (UT) continues his own crusade with the HOUSES Act, legislation that would streamline the sale of public lands for real estate development.
Second, if these BLM lands were ultimately transferred to the State of Utah, they would no longer be managed under the federal multiple use mandate that has been guided by more than half a century of precedent. Rather, the state legislature, with a simple majority vote would be able to determine the future of 18.5 million acres that rightfully belong to all of us. Other than the very limited private interests who will ultimately benefit from Utah’s land grab, pretty much everyone else is a loser—including the state’s citizens. It defies logic.
Finally, in addition to the $14 million cost of the current lawsuit being carried on the backs of Utah taxpayers – the funding required for stewardship, maintenance, infrastructure, fire suppression and response, and other associated costs would bankrupt Utah without the benefit of current federal resources. Those findings were supported by a fiscal analysis conducted by in-state economists when Utah officials tried a similar stunt 10 years ago.
So, how would Utah deal with the crippling financial liabilities? With limited resources, a balanced-budget requirement, and the prospect of having Utah taxpayers foot more of the bill, the state would have no choice but to sell or lease the land to the highest private bidders. This wouldn’t be a novel outcome in Utah where more than half of the state trust lands granted at the time of statehood have already been sold off.
BHA routinely stands alone in the fight for our public lands against the scourge of money or politics because despite the odds, it’s who we are and what we do. I invite the broader community of conservation-minded hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts to stand shoulder to shoulder alongside us. Tell Utah Governor Spencer Cox to drop the lawsuit or risk facing what many other misguided politicians have learned the hard way: Americans will fight to keep public lands out of greedy hands."
-Patrick Berry, President & CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers