Free Republic

With the Cliven Bundy story still fresh on the minds of many Americans, it’s a shock to see a state government turn the tides on the federal government by passing legislation that demands it hand over control of 30 million acres of land. It’s become commonplace to see news stories of the opposite phenomenon, as the federal government, working through the Bureau of Land Management, has time and again trampled on the private property rights of its citizens and claimed lands for itself. This is not the case in Utah. Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill earlier this year...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Interior Department intends to halt all reviews of its Western land holdings for new wilderness protection and to withdraw that protected status from some 3 million acres in Utah, it informed Congress on Friday. By suspending wilderness reviews, the department would limit the amount of land held by its Bureau of Land Management eligible for wilderness protection at 22.8 million acres nationwide - a figure that environmental groups say leaves millions of pristine acres vulnerable to oil and gas development and off-road vehicle use. Congress, however, could order additional areas protected. "The Department stands firmly committed...