Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on five bills including H.R. 5780 (Rep. Rob Bishop), the “Utah Public Lands Initiative Act.” This bill designates millions of acres of federal land for conservation and recreation; exchanges and consolidates certain federal and non-federal land; and provides for economic development within the State of Utah. H.R. 5780 passed by a vote of 21-13.

“We have a bill that is truly locally-driven and solves problems. Historic land disputes and scarce revenue for our children’s education will soon be a mark of the past for our state. The bill will provide land-use certainty, proving that conservation and economic development can coexist to build a new future of prosperity for our children. This is a good bill developed by Utahns for Utah,” Chairman Bishop (R-UT) said.

"PLI is a balanced, bipartisan approach to decades-long land use conflicts. This legislation provides a viable, sustainable and long-term alternative to a national monument designation, which would be devastating to the state of Utah,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) stated. “Instead of the arrogance of a unilateral designation by a president who has never visited these areas, this bill enjoys broad local support after a very open and transparent process. We have bent over backwards to accommodate as much input as we possibly can. The final result reflects that spirit of compromise and collaboration."

Background:

H.R. 5780 includes a four to one ratio of land designated for conservation and Wilderness to land used for economic development purposes. The bill was developed in an unprecedented transparent and public process, including over 1,200 meetings, 50 field trips and several hearings across Utah.

Support:

• San Juan County, UT
• Emery County, UT
• Carbon County, UT
• White Mesa Ute Tribe

Click here to view a one-page summary of H.R. 5780.

Click here to view additional information on H.R. 5780.