- Utah is second in the nation for the amount of land controlled by the federal government.
- This sets the stage for contention and who should shape the state's destiny.
- The biggest landholder is the Bureau of Land Management, followed by the U.S. Forest Service.
States and the federal government share a vital economic nexus, despite some criticism, according to a new report.
A data summary, the fourth in a series on state and federal economic linkages from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, presents the Utah-federal government connection for public lands and was released Thursday. It notes that Utah is second, with Nevada in first place, in percentage of land owned by the federal government.
“Lands under federal management include national forests, national parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, wilderness areas, and unappropriated Bureau of Land Management land,” said Eric Albers, senior natural resources analyst at the Gardner Institute. “The federal government also owns military installations in Utah, which are not considered ‘public land.’”
Where is this federal land? The ownership ranges from a low of 4% in Morgan County to a high of 90% in Garfield County. Counties in northern Utah and along the Wasatch Front have some of the lowest rates of federal land in the state. Federal land comprises more than 50% of the total acreage in 18 Utah counties, according to the analysis.
The report also points out the nexus pays off on federal receipts returned to Utah — in some cases. In 2024, the federal government collected $186.3 million in natural resources revenue from rents, bonuses and royalties and disbursed $93.7 million back to Utah. The federal government’s revenue from natural resource extraction varies year to year and peaked in 2008 at $552.4 million.
A snapshot at the ownership and how it breaks down
- Two federal land management agencies administer 88.5% of all federally controlled land, with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managing 65.1% and the Forest Service managing 23.4%.
- The National Park Service manages 6% of federal land, and the Department of Defense administers 5.2%.
- The Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Energy also administer federal land within the state, but collectively account for less than 1% of federal land management.
A sticking point for some GOP lawmakers in Utah is the land under federal control that remains “unappropriated.” Unappropriated federal land refers to land that carries no federal designation and only applies to certain BLM land. This includes land not designated as a national monument, wilderness or some other designation, according to the institute.
“A total of 18.6 million acres of BLM land in Utah remain unappropriated. On Aug. 20, 2024, Utah filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging the legality of BLM ownership of unappropriated land,” the report said.
In January of this year, the Supreme Court declined to hear the suit. Utah plans to refile the suit in federal district court.
The enormity of land control in Utah by the federal government has set the stage for countless legal fights lodged by the GOP, from the size of two controversial monuments, protections for imperiled species, access to ATV trails and more.
There have been counter lawsuits filed by conservation groups, from litigation over the control and care of water and air quality to new transportation corridors — all issues on a pendulum depending on which presidential administration is in control.