Like most Western states, Utah’s land is disproportionately owned and controlled by the federal government. 

Nearly 70% of Utah land is under federal control, with approximately half of that acreage classified as “unappropriated” lands without any designated purpose or plan for future use (this excludes national parks, national forests, national monuments, and similar designations). This results in economic disadvantages for Utah, the inability to make infrastructure and conservation decisions, and forced compliance with an out-of-touch federal bureaucracy.

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