Utah vs. the Feds: a high-stakes land grab battle heads to the Supreme Court

BLM land in Utah’s Redrock Country, and sage-grouse habitat. Photo: Marcos Rivas

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah is challenging the federal government’s control over 18.5 million acres of public land—about 34% of the state—in a new lawsuit filed directly with the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit questions the legitimacy of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) claim to this unappropriated land. The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 20.

The lawsuit targets public land that is “unappropriated.” It doesn’t include Utah’s five national parks, or any state national forests, recreation or wilderness areas or national monuments.

Utah’s Attorney General Attorney General Sean Reyes said the U.S. government is simply holding on to Utah land without a designated purpose and that deprives Utah of its sovereignty and does not take into consideration how residents or state business is impacted.

“We are committed to ensuring that Utahns of all ages and abilities have access to public lands. The BLM has increasingly failed to keep these lands accessible and appears to be pursuing a course of active closure and restriction. It is time for all Utahns to stand for our land.” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance called the filing an “election year stunt” and warned that the move would threaten Utah’s tourism economy pointing out that Utah is known world-wide for its stunning landscapes, which attract millions of visitors to the state each year.

“All of that is at risk with Utah’s saber rattling and insistence that many of these remarkable landscapes are instead “state lands” that should be developed and ultimately destroyed by short-sighted state politicians,” the Alliance’s Legal Director Steve Bloch said.

Why it matters: If successful, the lawsuit could upend federal land management not only in Utah but across the Western U.S., potentially transferring millions of acres into state hands.

The stakes: Utah officials argue that federal control over such vast swathes of land impairs the state’s sovereignty, blocking local management, taxation, and critical infrastructure development. They’ve earmarked $20 million to fund the legal battle.

The pushback: Environmental groups slam the lawsuit as a “land grab,” accusing Utah of threatening iconic landscapes and wasting taxpayer money. Critics argue the legal challenge is unlikely to succeed, given that federal land management is constitutionally mandated.

The big picture: Utah’s legal move is the latest in a series of state efforts to wrest control of public lands from federal agencies, with major implications for land use, conservation, and resource management in the state.