Utah’s latest lawsuit to transfer all BLM land in Utah over to the state is wrong on many levels. First of all, the law is clear and the state will very likely lose the lawsuit. We will waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money on this.The BLM land in Utah belongs to every citizen of the United States. It just happens to be in our backyard.
Secondly, the BLM is doing a pretty good job managing their 18 million acres in Utah. The state of Utah is doing a poor job managing the state lands that we have right now.
Thirdly, we Utahns have a pretty sweet deal. We have all of this public land in our backyard. We can go ATV riding, bicycling, motorcycling, hunting, camping, four wheeling, bird watching, sightseeing, road tripping, fishing and hiking. Of course, there is also mining, oil production, natural gas production, logging, and livestock grazing on BLM land. It is right here for our use, unlike the eastern states.
And who is going to fund the management of this land?
Currently it is funded by everyone in the United States, all 330 million of us. If it is transferred to Utah, we 3.3 million Utahns will have to fund it. I am sure that the grazing rights, mineral rights and other usage fees do not fund all of the management requirements. Who will pay for forest management, fire fighting, watershed protection, recreation facilities, abandoned oil well and mine cleanup and road maintenance?
And finally, what are the real motives behind this land transfer? The state would eventually privatize this public land.
If the land is transferred, imagine the scenario five or ten years from now: Utah has had a rough year financially, the legislators are faced with the option of raising taxes or selling some of this public land. They, of course, will sell it to mining companies, gas companies, wealthy corporate ranchers, or developers.
The “No trespassing” signs will go up. We will become like the eastern states with very little public land. The multiple uses that the public and local ranchers currently enjoy will be lost.
Our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will be the losers.
Neil Spencer, Riverton
