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H.C.R. 12

             1     

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OPPOSING UNITED STATES

             2     
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR'S WILDERNESS

             3     
RE-INVENTORY

             4     
2011 GENERAL SESSION

             5     
STATE OF UTAH

             6     
Chief Sponsor: Michael E. Noel

             7     
Senate Sponsor: Dennis E. Stowell

             8     
             9      LONG TITLE
             10      General Description:
             11          This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges the United States
             12      Secretary of the Interior to honor the 2003 Settlement Agreement and abandon the
             13      "Wild Lands" wilderness re-inventory, and urges Congress to honor longstanding
             14      commitments to multiple use public lands management.
             15      Highlighted Provisions:
             16          This resolution:
             17          .    urges the United States Secretary of the Interior to honor the 2003 Settlement
             18      Agreement and abandon the "Wild Lands" wilderness re-inventory; and
             19          .    urges the United States Congress to honor the longstanding commitment to multiple
             20      use management of public lands in Utah and the Western United States.
             21      Special Clauses:
             22          None
             23     
             24      Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
             25          WHEREAS, the wise multiple use of the public lands in Utah and in the Western
             26      United States is necessary for economic stability, is critical to the state's future, and is an
             27      important part of Utah's culture and heritage;


             28          WHEREAS, prudent application of sustainable multiple use principles allows the state's
             29      renewable and abundant natural resources to be of value to all Americans, while protecting the
             30      many unique and sensitive parts of the state;
             31          WHEREAS, the federal government controls two of every three acres of the state of
             32      Utah, second only to Nevada among the contiguous 48 states;
             33          WHEREAS, the multiple use management of the lands held in common in Utah has
             34      contributed to the well being of the state and nation through energy development, mineral
             35      development, production of food and fiber, and recreational opportunities;
             36          WHEREAS, the creation of new wealth is tied directly to the land and the judicious
             37      development of the state's natural resources;
             38          WHEREAS, ownership and private property rights are the catalyst to increasing wealth
             39      and improving society's standard of living, and is a belief central to capitalism and a successful
             40      free enterprise system;
             41          WHEREAS, risk and investment capital seek market opportunities that exhibit political
             42      and policy stability, the hallmarks of Utah's business climate, but are adversely affected by the
             43      political posturing and disregard for state input related to management of 23,000,000 acres of
             44      land administered by the United States Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management;
             45          WHEREAS, Revised Statute 2477, effective for more than 100 years and purposely
             46      protected in the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976, provided for the development
             47      of Utah's natural resources;
             48          WHEREAS, the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the legal obligation and
             49      responsibility of the federal government to safeguard livestock grazing rights as part of the
             50      cultural and social fabric of the West, ultimately upheld as the "chiefly valuable for grazing
             51      doctrine";
             52          WHEREAS, generations of economically viable livestock grazing operations in Utah
             53      have been forged to families combining private and public land resources that ultimately
             54      contributes to local economies and are the catalyst for preserving open space in many rapidly
             55      developing areas;
             56          WHEREAS, management of the unreserved federal lands administered by the Interior
             57      Department are obligated under the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) to
             58      incorporate into agency management plans "consistency" in partnership with state and local


             59      planning;
             60          WHEREAS, a fundamental principle espoused by the nation's Founders called for
             61      equality among the states and is referred to as the "Equal Footing Doctrine," a principle that
             62      calls for each state to enter the Union equal in their sovereign power;
             63          WHEREAS, the Interior Department's "Treasured Landscapes" internal planning
             64      document reveals an agency bias, and outside influences identified as much as 130,000,000
             65      acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands for special "Wild Lands"
             66      designation;
             67          WHEREAS, the "Treasured Landscapes" internal document also recommends that the
             68      Secretary of the Interior circumvent congressional mandates related to wilderness designations,
             69      calling for wilderness protection through Presidential Proclamations;
             70          WHEREAS, on December 23, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior announced Secretarial
             71      Order 3310, calling for a re-inventory of Bureau of Land Management lands with "wilderness
             72      characteristics" under a new Secretarial definition of "Wild Lands" and diverting funds from
             73      critical agency needs;
             74          WHEREAS, the BLM has inventoried lands with wilderness characteristics, following
             75      the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, as part of the agency's Resource
             76      Management Planning (RMP) process;
             77          WHEREAS, Secretarial Order 3310 seeks to establish new wilderness study areas in
             78      Utah and throughout the West based on the new wild lands definition and BLM inventory
             79      guidance providing the BLM broader authority to stop energy development, livestock grazing,
             80      mineral extraction, and recreational activities;
             81          WHEREAS, jobs generated through multiple use activities on the public lands provide
             82      family sustaining, well paying jobs to hundreds of thousands of Utahns and are the economic
             83      backbone of Utah's rural communities; and
             84          WHEREAS, the Secretary of the Interior's decision to withdraw from the 2003
             85      Utah--Interior Settlement Agreement is an insult to Utahns, and Secretarial Order 3310 is a
             86      violation of the spirit and the letter of the Wilderness Act of 1964, ultimately undermining the
             87      goodwill and collaborative efforts currently underway in Utah to find mutually agreeable land
             88      use solutions:
             89          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the


             90      Governor concurring therein, urge the United States Secretary of the Interior to honor the 2003
             91      Settlement Agreement and abandon the "Wild Lands" wilderness re-inventory.
             92          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge the United
             93      States Congress to honor the longstanding commitment to multiple use management of public
             94      lands in Utah and the Western United States.
             95          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority
             96      Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
             97      the United States Secretary of the Interior, the President of the United States, and to the
             98      members of Utah's congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-22-11 3:06 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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