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- The U.S. House passed the Utah State Parks Adjustment Act, transferring 800 acres back to Utah.
- Rep. Celeste Maloy and Sen. Mike Lee support state control for better land management.
- This follows Utah's lawsuit challenging federal control over 18.5 million acres.
Earlier this week, the U.S. House passed a bill — the Utah State Parks Adjustment Act — that could revert ownership of three parcels of federal land to Utah.
It seeks to transfer the control of 800 acres across Antelope Island State Park, Wasatch Mountain State Park and Fremont Indian State Park back to the states. This would "ensure our iconic state parks are preserved and enjoyed by Utahns for decades to come!" said Rep. Celeste Maloy in a post on X.
"Utah State Parks, managed by Utahns with a deep knowledge of the land, are well cared for and maintained. However, having federal lands interspersed throughout these parks has made effective management more challenging," she said in a press release. "I'm pleased to see the House pass the Utah State Parks Adjustment Act, returning these land parcels to state control."
What's Rep. Celeste Maloy's federal lands bill about?
Maloy's bill is in lockstep with Utah's efforts to regain control over other federally controlled land in the state. "For nearly 20 years the Utah State Parks Division has managed the Castle Rock campground by the Fremont Indian State Park in Sevier County in my district," the Utah congresswoman said in her remarks on the House floor. But, she noted, the land is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
"Utah is known for a long list of things, but two of the things at the top of that list are the Great Salt Lake and parks." The Antelope Island State Park, located within the Great Salt Lake, and Wasatch Mountain State Park in Summit County are two other popular parks that also have "dozens of small parcels of federal land" that fall inside the state park boundaries.
Maloy explained that the state manages these land parcels under a permit, but the Bureau of Land Management recently terminated several permits, saying "they didn't have the resources to manage and oversee these parcels."
Sen. Mike Lee supports Utah State Parks Adjustment Act
She argued the federal government's ownership hampers the state from effectively managing the campground or installing timely improvements like roads, trails and utilities.
"It just makes sense for the state to take over management of these parcels," she added.
Sen. Mike Lee R-Utah, who introduced a companion piece of legislation in the Senate, praised the passage of Maloy's bill, saying it's "an encouraging win for all Utahns and (it) demonstrates what we can accomplish when local voices are at the forefront."
"I look forward to advancing this bill in the Senate to return these parcels to state control, streamline land management, and empower Utahns to steward the lands they know and love," he added.
Lee will chair the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year. He told Axios he "looks forward to increasing local access and management for federal lands while stopping Washington's abuse of the Antiquities Act and overreach by BLM." The law allows a president to step in and declare land monuments without limit.
When the news of his chairmanship broke, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance's Washington, D.C., director Travis Hammill criticized Lee for being "a direct threat to America's public lands."
"He has been particularly critical of popular public lands protections for treasured places like Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, highlighting how he's out of step with the importance of these places to Americans," Hammill said in a press release.
Utah's recent lawsuit challenging federal ownership of lands
This bill comes months after Utah filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the federal government's permanent control of 18.5 million acres of unappropriated public lands in Utah on constitutional grounds, as the Deseret News previously reported.
"The federal government controls less than 1% of the land in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island, and less than 3% of the land in Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Pennsylvania," said the "Stand for Our Land" website, which highlights the Beehive State's platform. Meanwhile, federal agencies control 70% of Utah's lands.
"The state wants to see public lands remain in public hands and available to all Utahns and visitors of all ages and abilities to be managed for multiple uses for current and future generations," the website adds.
The lawsuit does not impact a million acres of federal and tribal lands that include national parks, national monuments, national forests and national wilderness areas.
Following the August lawsuit, Utah's congressional delegation — Sens. Lee and Mitt Romney and Utah Reps. John Curtis, Maloy, Blake Moore and Burgess Owens — filed a friend of the court brief to support Utah's case.
