In 2020, the League of Women Voters of Grand County completed an educational study for the Utah League on the Transfer of Public Lands Movement. This study explores the intersection between the history of U.S. public lands, the politics of the Transfer of Public Lands Movement, and the consequences to public access to these lands if the Transfer Movement succeeds.
That same year, the U.S. League of Women Voters adopted a national position on the Transfer of Federal Public Lands, which supports the retention of those lands under the jurisdiction of the federal government, with U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands managed according to the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield policy. The league’s position also supports improvements in management and regulation.
Because the League of Women Voters believes “there is a significant risk that the land transfer issue may arise with little advance notice in any state with federal public lands”, their national position can be generalized to any/all state and local leagues across the country, allowing them to speak with one voice in opposing the transfer of U.S. public lands into state ownership.
In keeping with the league’s commitment to being a nonpartisan political organization that works on issues of concern to members and the public, the https://www.lwvseu.org/publiclandsproject webpage was created to house the documents associated with the Transfer of Public Lands Movement Study. Use this information to engage local, state, and national elected officials in a serious discussion about the future of U.S. public lands.
Make retention of America’s public lands a national issue
Read the transfer study and watch the presentations
Become informed and join the conversation
Ask candidates running for local, state and national office about their stance on the transfer of U.S. public lands into state/and or private ownership.
And vote accordingly.
Carey Dabney, Moab