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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This resolution directs the state to pursue strategies for ensuring sound public lands
11 management policies.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ recognizes Utah as a public lands state and the state's commitment to perpetually
15 remain a public lands state;
16 ▸ recognizes that state officials should be involved in the creation and implementation
17 of public lands policies; and
18 ▸ directs state legislative bodies and agencies to work with federal legislative bodies,
19 agencies, and other like-minded states to pursue strategies that outline the state's
20 laws, principles, values, priorities, and willingness to work with federal agencies to
21 manage the state's public lands.
22 Special Clauses:
23 None
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25 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
26 WHEREAS, the state of Utah is a public lands state and is committed to perpetually
27 remaining a public lands state;
28 WHEREAS, Utah's public lands are unparalleled in their beauty, solitude, ecosystems,
29 abundant natural resources, and productivity;
30 WHEREAS, Utah's public lands are for all those who visit and recreate in the state, but
31 the decisions made regarding public lands management and use directly impact the people of
32 Utah;
33 WHEREAS, public lands policies and issues implicate vital constitutional principles,
34 such as state sovereignty and the right to self-governance;
35 WHEREAS, in recent years, state and local officials have advocated for the transfer of
36 federal public lands to state ownership;
37 WHEREAS, the position of state and local officials has often been misunderstood or
38 mischaracterized, which has led to unproductive contention, conflict, and gridlock;
39 WHEREAS, from the beginning, the state has desired effective, efficient, and
40 predictable public lands stewardship strategies, which are vital to Utah's sovereignty, economy,
41 and quality of life;
42 WHEREAS, to account for and protect local and state interests, state officials should be
43 involved in both the creation and implementation of public lands policies;
44 WHEREAS, gridlock does not serve the interests of the state, the people of Utah, or the
45 millions of people who visit Utah every year;
46 WHEREAS, the challenges in public lands management can be overcome by
47 strengthening partnerships with federal agencies and exploring practical changes to federal
48 laws and regulations;
49 WHEREAS, in today's political climate, renewing a partnership between the state and
50 the federal government will likely be the most effective method for ensuring practical
51 legislative reform and sound land management practices;
52 WHEREAS, the state desires to pursue strategies that would outline the state's laws,
53 principles, values, priorities, and willingness to work with federal agencies in a more effective
54 and cooperative manner;
55 WHEREAS, the National Forest Management Act of 1976 requires the Secretary of
56 Agriculture to develop resource management plans for units of the National Forest System in
57 coordination with state and local resource management planning processes; and
58 WHEREAS, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) requires
59 the Secretary of the Interior to provide for meaningful involvement of state and local
60 government officials in the development of land use plans and requires those land use plans to
61 be consistent with state and local land use plans to the maximum extent that the Secretary of
62 the Interior finds consistent with federal law and the purposes of FLMPA:
63 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
64 Governor concurring therein, directs state legislative bodies and agencies to work with federal
65 legislative bodies, agencies, and other like-minded states to pursue strategies that outline the
66 state's laws, principles, values, priorities, and willingness to work with federal agencies to
67 manage the state's public lands.