OCTOBER 25, 2024 |
Photo – Governor Mark Gordon – Bigfoot99 file photo
Governor Mark Gordon announced on Thursday that the State of Wyoming has filed an amicus brief in support of Utah on their federal public lands claims pending before the US Supreme Court.
Wyoming joined with the states of Idaho and Alaska, as well as the Arizona Legislature in the court filing.
The Governor issued the following statement:
“Federal ownership of unappropriated land negatively impacts Western states’ ability to regulate local land uses. I consistently preach that the best land management policies are developed by those who live close to the lands. As we have seen with the Rock Springs and Buffalo Resource Management Plans, the whims of the current Administration can have immense impacts on the states where those lands are located.”
At stake in the case is the legal principle of multiple use. The leftist political ideology Biden Administration has ignored the principle of multiple use. In Sweetwater County, the BLM is advocating for less public access, curtailing the time-honored uses of public lands from ranching and other activities.
In a statement on Thursday, Governor Gordon states, “Wyoming believes it is essential for the states to be recognized as the primary authority when it comes to unappropriated lands within our borders. The Federal government’s indefinite retention of millions of acres of land is a critical question that impacts all Western states, which is why Wyoming has filed this amicus.”
In the lawsuit before the United States Supreme Court, the states do not contest all federal ownership of land within their boundaries. “The federal government may validly own land in the interior as necessary to exercise enumerated powers, as with military bases, federal courthouses, and so on,” the filing states.
At stake are “unappropriated lands” that Washington is “simply holding without formally reserving for any designated purpose.”
The BLM manages 28% of the land within Wyoming’s boundaries, 22% of the land in Idaho, 17% of the land in Arizona, and 16% of the land in Alaska.
The lawsuit notes that 80% of BLM lands in the west are not reserved for any designated purpose.
The lawsuit notes that the sovereign authority of Western states to address issues of local concern is curtailed, allowing the federal government to divert millions of dollars away from the region.
Western states, like Wyoming, argue in the court filing that they are no less sovereign in law than the older 38 states which are without significant federal lands, but are regarded so by the BLM. The court filing argues that the High Court should restore the proper balance of federalism between Western States and the federal government.
They argue that federal ownership of unappropriated lands inverts federalism and stymies the sovereign authority of western states to regulate their lands.
The states argue that the Utah Case presents the Court with an opportunity to resolve a purely legal issue in a nationwide, uniform manner rather than having it litigated piecemeal in each State.
