Utah Plan Would Reduce How Much Land the Federal Government Controls

Lawmakers from Utah are backing a public lands bill they say will scale back roughly 660 million acres owned by the federal government to balance conservation with economic development in their state.

The Utah Public Lands Initiative encompasses 18 million acres of federal land in Utah and includes provisions to expand Arches National Park, designate acreage for recreation and economic development, and build a new national monument.

Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, both R-Utah, last week introduced the long-anticipated bill after spending more than three years meeting with stakeholders ranging from ranchers to conservation groups.

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