Utah Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit preventing the state from reviving a case to allow the sell off of public land
Jul 29, 2025, 11:57 AM
FILE: (L) Gov. Spencer J. Cox announces a state action for Utah public lands on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News). (R) Bret Webster and Donna Bradshaw hold a sign on the steps of the Capitol as hundreds turn out for a public lands rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday January. 11, 2025. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — On Wednesday, July 23, 3rd District Court Judge Thaddeus J. May dismissed a lawsuit from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance that would have prevented the state from again trying to alter public land ownership in Utah.
In the order, May said that SUWA’s concerns that the state might try to refile a public lands lawsuit were “moot.”
History of the public land lawsuits
Utah originally filed a motion in 2024 with the United States Supreme Court seeking an order to allow the state to take over management of public lands. The motion also ordered them to start “disposing” of 18.5 million acres of BLM lands.
The U.S. Supreme Court eventually rejected the state’s lawsuit, citing a provision in the Utah Constitution that states the people of Utah have forever given up their rights to own unappropriated lands within the state.
That same year, SUWA submitted a separate case against Gov. Spencer Cox and then-Attorney General Sean Reyes, citing statements the two had made that seemed to suggest they would like to refile the public land lawsuit in the future.
In the order issued last week, Judge May said that since the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state’s lawsuit, SUWA’s case is moot. He also said they cannot base decisions on vague statements intended to impact future use.
“It’s our position that with the repeated statements made by Governor Cox – doubling down on the state’s intent to refile its lawsuit in federal district court – Judge May had what he needed to proceed with our case and conclude that Utah’s constitution prohibits the state from bringing a lawsuit like this in the first place,” SUWA legal director Steve Block said in a statement.
“We’ll review today’s decision and consider potential next steps, including refiling this case if the state brings its lawsuit in federal district court.”
Related: Sen. Mike Lee strikes federal land sales proposal from ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
