Despite my issues with how the Bureau of Land Management manages our public lands, and there are countless things I find wrong with its implementations, the land that part of the federal government manages is still at least our land. It hasn't been sold off, leased out, or otherwise walled away from those who rightfully own it.
Limitations are being put on those lands, sure, and those limitations aren't always for the benefit of the American public. But it's still ours and, with collective force, we can push back on idiotic policies drummed up by those far away in Washington and without a connection to the land we all love to use. We can still protect closings of OHV trails, cry foul when recreational shooting is banned, or when hunting access becomes limited. There's still someone we can complain to and, due to those lands still being public, have our voices heard and potentially affect change.
That wouldn't be the case with Utah's, my home state, idiotic lawsuit against the Bureau to seize 18 million acres of public land. Why? While the campaign to control those lands pretends to put the American people first, maintaining those lands for all, Utah doesn't have the funds to do so, nor has any inclination to, as it just wants to sell it off to property developers, as well as to extractive industries, like oil, gas and mineral mining.
In essence, it wants to take away your public lands, pretend it's doing this for you (Why shouldn't Utahans control Utah's land?!), and then sell it off to make a buck. And now a bunch of other states and politicians have come out in support of this lawsuit.
Great.
"The most insidious of threats at our doorstep is the State of Utah’s lawsuit filed in August with the U.S. Supreme Court to seize a staggering 18.5 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)," says Patrick Berry, President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a conservation group dedicated to fighting for everyone's public land access. He added, "Shockingly, elected officials in 14 states – along with a variety of self-serving trade groups and other anti-public land interests – have since jumped on board with legal support."
Those states include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
Berry puts it succinctly. "If Utah’s lawsuit succeeds, the consequences will extend far beyond its borders. At a minimum, 211 million acres of BLM lands across the West would be at immediate risk – and potentially all federally managed lands." That would mean way fewer places to hunt, fish, camp, hike, or ride and drive our favorite machines.
It would mean we wouldn't have all these amazing places to visit and recreate on. We wouldn't, as a whole, own our lands and we'd end up without the natural wonders, beauty, and lands that we all yearn to experience. We'd be lesser as a country without them.
Luckily, there are still a lot of unknowns with Utah's lawsuit. The US Supreme Court, which is where Utah's AG filed this with, could say "Take a hike" and kick it down to the lower courts, which has the potential to be a protracted legal fight for decades to come. The Supreme Court could also agree to hear it and that, at present, would be a coin flip as to whether they'd side with the American people or the barons that want to strip mine the place.
Either way, our public lands are in jeopardy. But as I said at the top, because they're still our public lands, our voices can and will be heard. We can fight back against this asinine lawsuit and demand our elected officials stop trying to steal this land out from under us. I've already written my elected officials about this and I encourage you all to do the same. I'll also encourage everyone to support groups like Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, RMEF, and others who advocate for all who use public lands. And, as always, vote for those who will actually protect these resources.
Because these public lands aren't for sale, and they're definitely not anyone's but ours.
