America’s Public Lands Are in Real Danger and Utah is Leading the Charge,
Carey Dabney, LWV Utah, Moab Utah
America’s public lands belong to all of us. They are part of our shared heritage, protected for recreation, wildlife, clean water, and future generations. But today, that legacy faces a coordinated and escalating threat. One that deserves national attention.
At the center of this effort is Utah, where state leaders have spent decades advancing a well-funded campaign to wrest control of federal public lands and transfer them to state authority. If Utah succeeds, the consequences would extend far beyond its borders, providing a template for other states to dismantle federal land protections nationwide.
Utah’s most recent attempt came in the form of a lawsuit built on legal arguments repeatedly rejected by courts and constitutional scholars. Rather than letting those arguments stand on their own merits, the state backed them with a taxpayer-funded public relations campaign branded as “Stand for Our Land – Let Utah Manage Utah Land.” The campaign promotes misleading claims about American history, the U.S. Constitution, and federal land law; claims that confuse citizens and lawmakers alike.
At the federal level, warning signs are multiplying. In early January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Rules package that quietly changed how public land transfers are scored, allowing them to be treated as “budget neutral.” That may sound technical, but the implications are serious: it lowers a key procedural barrier, making it easier for Congress to approve land transfers, sales, or exchanges with far less scrutiny.
Then, on February 3, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretarial Order 3418, directing a sweeping review of lands withdrawn from fossil fuel and mining development, including national monuments. That same day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin creating a sovereign wealth fund.
Taken together, these actions raise troubling questions. A sovereign wealth fund requires massive amounts of capital, and quickly. At the same time, public lands are being reframed as assets rather than public trust resources. That combination makes the idea of selling off or transferring public lands not only possible, but politically tempting.
Meanwhile, the federal agencies charged with managing these lands are being hollowed out. In early 2025, thousands of employees from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management were laid off. These agencies were already understaffed. Now, their ability to protect public lands, enforce environmental laws, and manage increased development pressure is in serious doubt.
Despite setbacks, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Utah’s lawsuit and the removal of a proposed land-sale amendment from a broader bill, Utah’s leaders have made clear they are not backing down. Instead, they are pursuing a multi-pronged strategy that includes renewed litigation, legislative maneuvering, aggressive lobbying of federal officials, and continued public messaging campaigns funded by Utah taxpayers.
A key player in this effort is the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, created in 2005 to “coordinate, promote, and implement Utah’s public land priorities.” Critics note that land-transfer language has repeatedly surfaced in unrelated federal bills, often behind closed doors, and that Utah officials continue to press Congress to weaken federal land authority piece by piece.
The state’s public relations campaign has been especially troubling. Launched in 2024 at a reported cost of $2 million, “Stand for Our Land” targeted both Utah residents and national audiences with ads in newspapers, on billboards, on television, and across social media. National outreach included advertising in major media outlets and direct engagement with policymakers in Washington, D.C.
At the heart of the campaign are claims that simply do not hold up: that federal land was “stolen” from Utah; that the Constitution forbids federal land ownership without state consent; that public lands were promised to Utah at statehood; that Utah was denied equal footing with other states; and that transferring these lands would somehow keep them “public.” These arguments have been consistently rejected by courts and legal experts, yet they continue to be repeated as fact.
Senator Mike Lee has been one of the most visible national figures advancing this agenda, inserting land-transfer provisions into federal legislation and promoting Utah’s narrative on Capitol Hill. But he is far from alone. A network of elected officials and allied interests continues to push policies that would ultimately transfer, privatize, or sell off America’s public lands.
This is not a regional issue. When Congress is asked to vote on amendments, bills, or resolutions that could weaken protections for public lands, lawmakers from all 50 states must understand what is truly at stake. Once public lands are sold or transferred into private ownership, they are almost never recovered.
America’s public lands are a defining part of who we are as a nation. They are not a budget line item, a political bargaining chip, or a revenue source to be liquidated. If we fail to confront this coordinated effort now, we risk losing something irreplaceable. Forever.