At stake is control of public lands in Western states, and conservationists fear increased efforts to roll back protections under the next Trump administration.

The Salt Lake Tribune examines the shifting political landscape and its effect on Utah's Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante—an ongoing fight that an area business owner refers to as "living

Utah filed its lawsuit against the United States government last August. The state argued that it is deprived of more than one-third of the land within its border, deeming the amount of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management “unconstitutional” and a federal policing of power.

The state in August filed a lawsuit asking the court to declare the federal Bureau of Land Management’s ownership of 18.5 million acres of land in Utah unconstitutional.

A coalition of Utah Republicans has filed legislation invoking a 19th century mining law to block the Bureau of Land Management from implementing a series of travel management plans in the state that critics say emphasizes conservation over public access.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Utah's lawsuit that sought to make federal lands within its state borders illegal.

The Supreme Court is turning back a push by the state of Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government.

Utah sought to have the case elevated to the federal Supreme Court without first wending its way through lower courts. The court rejected that request Monday. While Utah, Idaho and other states involved in the effort could opt to refile with lower courts, they have not yet done so.

Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, a Democrat, praised the Supreme Court's decision in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune as a "win for all Americans and the protection of our environment. Today's actions serve as an important reminder that our public lands should not be privatized or exploited for short-term benefits."

If you're passionate about birds of prey, consider joining the Raptor Inventory Nest Survey (RINS) annual monitoring project, where volunteers will get the chance to learn about and help protect Utah's eagles,

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has a new management plan, and Utah’s congressional delegation doesn’t like it. Earlier this week, the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, approved a resource management plan for southern Utah’s 1.

Preeminent naturalist John Muir stated, “The bottom third of Utah should become a National Park!” He was overtaken by its rugged, unadulterated majesty. Many other prominent authors and naturalists have spoken in its behalf- Terry Tempest Williams, Ed Abbey, Wallace Stegner, Steve Trimble, to name a few.