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SALT LAKE CITY — A public school teacher, business owner and hunting enthusiast were among residents Wednesday who staged a rally at the Capitol urging Gov. Gary Herbert to withdraw his efforts to gain control of federal lands.
Organized by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the rally was followed by the delivery of more than 5,400 signatures on a petition and post cards to Herbert's office to voice opposition to what they characterize as Herbert's "land grab."
"I am passionate about having access to our national forests," said Jack Nelson, who sat in his wheelchair and detailed the virtues of conserving public lands. "As Americans we are part owners of our national forests."
Nelson described himself as an outdoor enthusiast of more than 60 years who was dismayed at the lack of public hunting opportunities available in Texas, compared to Utah.
His friend, he said, had a deer carcass in his vehicle and explained to Nelson he had to pay for the privilege of hunting on private land.
Nelson, in contrast, said he can go anywhere that public lands allow hunting in Utah, which presents a vast landscape of opportunity.
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SUWA and others at the event are opposed to the state's initiation of lawsuits against the federal government to assert ownership of disputed roads under what is known as the RS2477 statute. Control over rights-of-way to thousands of roads in Utah has been in contention for decades, and Herbert has authorized litigation in an attempt to resolve claims to an estimated 12,000 roads, routes or trails in Utah established in the Civil War era.
That lawsuit is a part of public lands policy that also includes legislation the governor signed into law this year demanding that the federal government relinquish title to lands conservative lawmakers say was promised to Utah at statehood.
SUWA and its supporters assert that wresting control of those federal lands would be an environmental nightmare, on top of a costly legal battle the state can ill afford.
