This land is your land,

This land is my land.

And the future of this land is uncertain.



A war is currently being fought in the good state of Utah, The question is:
Who do you want to win? Like any war, there are multiple parties who think they
are right, motivated by money, out to conquer land. Through out this article you
might find your loyalty shift between parties as facts are revealed, but the fact that
you are seeking information on the matter is helping to end this war.


Over half of Utahs public lands are owned by the Federal Government, and
Utahs public officials want it back. On March 16
th
, 2012 Utahs Governor Garry
Herbert signed into law House Bill 148. Also known as the Transfer of Public Lands
Act or TPLA. This Bill is one of many that requests the government give back the
millions of acres that they own in the state of Utah by December 31
st
, 2014.
What does this mean for the state of Utah and all its inhabitants?


While political leaders are more focused on how this could affect the economy,
environmentalists are concerned with the affects the TPLA can have on Utah
Wilderness. One group in particular: SUWA or the Southern Utah Wilderness
Alliance is openly against the Transfer of public lands. One might ask why are the
environmentalists so scared for Utah and her lands? Let us look deeper into the
reasons these parties are so fiercely fighting for.
Utahs Political Officials

Right now over sixty percent of Utahs land is Federally owned. Utahs
Political Officials believe its time for Utahs lands to be managed by Utahns. "There
is a constant tug of war going on out there because the federal government has so
much say about what goes on within the borders of Utah," said Utah Gov. Gary
Herbert in the Desert News last week. "We wish we had more flexibility and say
with what is happening in our own backyards." Its obvious Utahs tugging for land,
but whats their motivation?
According to Gov. Gary Herbert the motivation behind the TPLA is:
Economic Development, Education, and Energy. The energy sector is the second


largest component of Utahs income. A study done by the Institute for Energy
Research said that theres $150 trillion in mineral value locked up in the federally
controlled lands throughout out the west. We are sitting on an energy gold mine in
so many ways -said Utahs Energy Adviser Cody Stewart, but there is not much we
can do about it because of the high federal land ownership. In total, federal land
ownership in North Dakota is just below 4%, while over half of Utah is in the
governments possession. Like North Dakota Utah sits on one of the largest shale oil
deposits in the U.S., but unlike North Dakota we are unable to access those natural
resources. Utahs governor and other public officials have made the connection
between North Dakotas No. 1 economy, the countrys top jobless rate, and an
education system overflowing with funds to their unhindered access to their natural
resources such as oil and gas. In Utah there are 11,200 producing wells, with the
majority of those on federal lands, generating $445 million in revenue of which the
state gets half. The other half goes to the federal government, which critics would
argue gives them no incentive to give up control here or elsewhere in the West.
Some Utah Representatives believe control of those federal lands is a way to
replenish the states education funding, which has been below average for years.
With all the economical and educational benefits its easy to understand why
utahs political leaders are pushing for the land transfer. Utah Representative Ken
Ivory believes greater ownership of our lands leads to greater revenue potential.
Ivory also points out painfully slow pace of oil and gas development and stalemates
over issues like ownership of roads, endangered species management, and
management of forests, that unfairly face states like Utah are unheard of in states


like North Dakota. Currently, the average time to get a drilling permit in the state of
Utah is 18 months. Kathleen Sagmma, vice president of government and public
affairs for the Western Energy Alliance said, There are several projects proposed in
Utah that cannot get out of the environmental analysis stage, some going on year
seven or year eight. Some environmentalists say that it is the delays that ensure
precious land resources arent torn up, ruined for generations to come. They argue
that the federal government, is often the only check on unrestrained energy
development, which brings us to our second party:

Legal justification for the transfer of the public lands into State ownership is based
on the history of federal land policy. From the inception of this Nation and through
much of its history, it was the policy of the federal government to dispose of the
public lands both to pay off federal debt and to encourage the settlement of western
lands for the benefit of the states and the nation. This policy of disposal was very
much a part of the various enabling acts that authorized new states to join the
Union. In Utahs Enabling Act, the citizens of Utah agreed to disclaim title to, and
agreed to refrain from taxing the public lands until the title thereto shall have been


extinguished by the United States. Significantly, these terms for disposal of the
public lands in Utahs Enabling Act are the same terms found in Enabling Acts for
many states east of Colorado where the federal government carried out a timely
disposal of the public lands. This disclaimer of title was only intended to facilitate
the disposal of the public lands so that, eventually such lands would contribute to
the revenue bases of federal, State and local governments. This bargin with the State
of Utah was made with the federal government at the time of statehood back in
1896. Throughout history Utahs public lands and federally owned national parks
have been a source of enjoyment and revenue. Right now Utahns enjoy a $6 billion
outdoor recreation economy. Utahs public lands arent just public to utahns, but to
all Americans and tourists world-wide who come to Utah to experience her beauty.
Under the various federal environmental laws there are multiple use mandates that
require the BLM and Forest Service to put wilderness, cultural resource values, and
wildlife conservation on the same footing as things like oil and gas, there is no
similar state law that speaks to that. President Theodore Roosevelt understood the
importance of environmental preservation, he once said
"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire
seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are
exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the
rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."

With the concern of the environment in mind we turn to our last party:




"What a wonderful thing that people can step outside their own backyard
and be in the Wasatch, visit our wonderful canyons and go down to southern Utah
without worrying about no trespassing signs. It belongs to all of us. " said David
Garbett with the Sothern Utah Wilderness Alliance, an organization that works to
preserve and protect wilderness areas. Environmentalists express concern over
possible future outcomes concerning Utahs public lands. Attempting a balance
would not be and is not found if a state agency, or state lawmakers, have their say.
When is comes to choosing between protecting natural values, to protecting plant
and wildlife that do not generate revenue, the decision isalways to go for money
instead of long-term interests Garbet goes on to say. Utah does not have a very
good track record when it comes to environmental regulation, Utah Dividion of Oil,
Gas, and Mining has rarely denied projects, has a history of environmental neglect. If
the Transfer of Public Lands Act results in a win for Utah, activists are concerned for
Escalante grand staircase, the nations largest monument created in 1996. Recent
studies show a massive coal reserve located directly under much of the monument.
its not worth losing these unique lands for temporary jobs and temporary
economical benefits, I want these lands to be here for my children and their
childrens children




Conclusion


Citations

Kochan, Donald J. "A Legal Overview on Utah's H.B. 148- Transfer of Public Lands Act." Legal
Studies Research Paper Series 13-3 (2013): 1-30. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Sullivan, M. 1997. Monitoring Forest Resource Dependence in Southern Utah: Applications
to Ecosystem Management. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Utah State University.

O'Donoghue, Amy. "Crude Reality: State Officials See Federal Control as Blocking
Source of Revenue, Education Funding." Deseret News 12 Jan. 2014: 3c. Print.

Herbert, Garry, Gov. "First Steps to Utah's Energy Future." Hinkley Journal of Politics
5-8 14.1 (2011): 55-59. Epub. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

United States. Cong. House. Defense Council. A Case Statement for the H.b. 148: Utahs Transfer of
Public Lands Act. 118th Cong. H. Doc. 38. 82nd ed. Washinton D.C: UFCS, 2013. Print. Ser. 11.