Utah Asks Supreme Court to Make US Give Back Some Federal Lands

Half of all federal land in Utah is being illegally held by the federal government, which should dispose of it, the state argued in a Supreme Court original jurisdiction complaint filed Tuesday.

If the court takes the case and Utah wins, the legal action has the potential to completely upend the US’s system of public lands, jeopardizing the 245 million acres of land under the control of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management.

Each of the 11 Western states and Alaska have vast amounts of federal land within their borders. Nevada has the most, with 80% of its land ...