Supreme Court Declines to Hear Utah Federal Land Challenge (1)

The US Supreme Court denied a motion Monday to file an original jurisdiction case that could’ve upended how large swaths of the West are managed.

Utah petitioned the Supreme Court in August to hear its case asking the justices to declare it unconstitutional for the federal government to hold onto 18.5 million acres of “unappropriated” federal land in Utah. The complaint sought a state takeover of the land, which is managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The state claims that the Constitution limits the federal government from holding land beyond the District of Columbia and other federal “enclaves” ...