Utah’s West Desert, which includes much of the “unappropriated land” controlled by the Bureau of Land Management that the state argues it should control, is pictured on Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch)
Several states including North Dakota are throwing their support behind Utah’s lawsuit that questions whether the Bureau of Land Management can hold onto nearly 18.5 million acres of public land within the state’s borders.
Filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in August, Utah’s lawsuit argues that the BLM can’t indefinitely hold onto land without giving it a designation, like a national monument, national forest or wilderness area. Those 18.5 million acres are what the state calls “unappropriated land” — they’re still leased for grazing, recreation and mineral extraction, but have no designation.
Now, 12 states and a few state legislatures are supporting Utah’s effort, signing amicus briefs on Tuesday with the nation’s high court.
An amicus brief, also called a “friend of the court” brief, is filed by organizations or individuals who are not named in the lawsuit, but have an interest in the case or would like to support a particular side. In total, 11 briefs have been filed with the Supreme Court by various groups, states and politicians, all of them supporting Utah’s effort. They include: