SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A new report that says Utah could afford to manage about 30 million acres of federally controlled land gives the state a path forward as it pursues a legal challenge to make it happen, Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.
The 800-page report, produced by three state universities, shows it won’t be a financial burden for Utah if the state manages to succeed in its push to take control of the land, legislators on a public lands panel said.
But an economist warned that that the state will be at the mercy of national and international changes, such as greenhouse gas regulations or the manipulation of gas prices.
Utah’s Republican governor and legislators argue local officials would be better land managers and state control would make money for the state. They passed a 2012 law demanding the federal government hand over the land by 2015, but there’s no indication the federal government plans to do so.
Lawmakers are preparing for a potential lawsuit to push the issue in the next year or so, though legislative attorneys have warned the state is not likely to prevail in court.
“This is a great stepping stone for us in what we’re trying to do,” said Rep. Keven Stratton, an Orem Republican who chairs the Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands.
West Jordan Republican Rep. Ken Ivory, a commission member who has spearheaded the lands push, said the report refutes opponents who say the state could not take on the duties of the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
Conservation groups argue that the new report shows that Utah would be relying on unrealistic scenarios that would threaten natural treasures.
The land demand does not include national parks, wilderness areas and national monuments, with the exception of the roughly 3,000-square-mile Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah and its underground coal reserves.
Utah could afford the $280 million annual cost of managing the land through oil and gas leases on the land, and if prices for those commodities remain high, according to the report.
If oil and gas prices remain relatively low, as they are now, the state would have to increase drilling, raise the costs for drilling companies, or find other ways to make money.
Jan Stambro, a University of Utah economist, warned lawmakers Wednesday that the state will be at the mercy of national and international changes, such as greenhouse gas regulations or gas prices.
“Utah isn’t an island,” Stambro said. “A lot of it’s outside of the control of the state.”
Salt Lake City Rep. Joel Briscoe, the only Democrat attending Wednesday’s meeting, told The Associated Press it’s unrealistic to think everything will fall into place and make it manageable or profitable.
“I think it’s dicey,” Briscoe said. “For a positive outcome, they’re depending on rosy scenarios.”
The report looks only at hypothetical costs and benefits of state control and does not address how Utah might gain ownership of the land.
The Utah Legislature has set aside $2 million to prepare a legal fight for the state attorney general to pursue.
On Wednesday, members of the public lands commission said they want to hire outside lawyers who are experts in the subject and can be devoted solely to preparing strategies for a lawsuit.
The commission voted 6-1 to beginning preparing a work proposal so lawyers may apply.
Legislative staff said a legal team would not likely be hired until early 2015.
___
Follow Michelle L. Price at https://twitter.com/michellelprice .
Please read our comment policy before commenting.