Americans are immensely fortunate to access the expansive network of public lands and waters in our country. Without them, fly fishing and outdoor recreation writ large would be prohibitive to most of us–similar to how other countries. Too often, however, we see politicians and other interests seek to denigrate the American system of public lands. One such example is this deceptive “state’s rights” idea of transferring large tracts of federal public lands to the states. To many organizations, stakeholders, and experts this opens the door to privatizing our public lands to benefit the highest bidder. Utah again is center stage for this battle, but supporting states should serve as a startling warning for all of us.
The state of Utah is ground zero for these land transfer attempts or how they’re often described as ploys to privatize federal public lands. For more than a decade, state and federal elected officials from Utah have promoted legislation and other efforts to transfer millions of acres of public lands from the Bureau of Land Management to the state of Utah. Some of these legislative efforts have been successful. However, the state of Utah now is asking the United States Supreme Court to rule on whether the BLM can transfer 18.5 million acres of public lands to Utah.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is at the forefront of protecting public lands and has been steadfast in its coverage and opposition towards public lands transfers and privatization. Such transfers concern BHA so much, because the cost of managing these lands is often too much for state governments and/or the incentive to sell these formerly public lands to private entities is too great.
“Let’s be very clear: these are not Utah’s lands to begin with,” said BHA President & CEO Patrick Berry. “Public lands belong to every American, and we ALL have a stake in how these lands are managed. I urge every American who wants to see public lands truly remain in public hands to join BHA in this fight, and to let elected officials know that we will not stand for the transfer of our public land.”
There are 14 other states submitting briefs in support of the Utah lawsuit to the Supreme Court, which should concern all public land and water stakeholders. These public resources are exactly that, public resources that must be protected for generations. For more on this issue and how you can help, be sure to check out BHA’s Utah is Not For Sale site.
