UTAH: Federal lands takeover 'misguided' -- report
Greenwire: Monday, February 9, 2015
Legal scholars behind a new report on Utah's quest to take over the state's 31 million acres of federal lands found the effort would actually reduce public access and require a surge in mining and oil and gas drilling to cover the costs of land management.
Co-author John Ruple called the 2012 bill passed by the state Legislature demanding that federal officials relinquish control over lands in Utah a "misguided effort."
"The public would have less, not more, input into land management, and all who utilize what are now public lands -- industry and recreation interests alike -- would likely see the cost of access increase substantially," said Ruple, a former public lands policy official for then-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R).
He co-authored the report with Bob Keiter, director of the University of Utah law school's Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment.
The Stegner Center report countered a previous study cited frequently by Republican lawmakers that found the state could live without federal royalties, which amounted to more than $180 million in 2013.
"Instead of a potential surplus, we see a potential deficit," Ruple said. "The only realistic option is more development."
Utah Assistant Attorney General Tony Rampton disputed the report's finding that the 2012 law does nothing to preserve public access or would fuel an uptick in drilling and strip mining.
"One of the largest economic drivers [in Utah] is tourism and recreation," he said. "It is in the state's interest to preserve, protect and promote that activity, just as much as mineral development. It's all about balance" (Associated Press, Feb. 8). -- DTB
