By Aaron Weiss\/ Writers on the Range — If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while hoping in vain for different results, then Utah’s leaders surely need to talk to a mental health professional.<\/p>\n

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily dismissed Utah’s land-grab lawsuit, which had gained the support of 12 states. It was the latest in a string of unsuccessful attempts to wrest control of public lands from the American people. Natural arch the terminus of Grandstaff Canyon Trail near Moab Utah. Photo by Dave Marston\/Writers on the Range Why Utah persists in its quest to privatize its priceless assets of public land is puzzling. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, these lands are cherished by mountain bikers, hunters, hikers, campers and photographers. Many connect to national parks and monuments, and it’s hard to imagine that selling them off would ever be a popular move.<\/p>\n

In its complaint, the state argued that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from holding “unappropriated” public lands indefinitely, and that those lands must be handed over to the state. Aside from the state inventing its own definition of the word “unappropriated,” the lawsuit relied on a selective reading of the Constitution that the Supreme Court rightfully ignored.<\/p>\n

The state paid $500,000 to the lawyers who wrote this failed complaint and spent over $1.3 million on a public relations campaign aimed at convincing Utahns that the state would be a better steward of public land than the federal […]<\/p>\n

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By Aaron Weiss\/ Writers on the Range — If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while hoping in vain for different results, then Utah’s leaders surely need to talk to a mental health professional. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily dismissed Utah’s land-grab lawsuit, which had gained the support […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":287995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n