Utah legislature to consider bill to challenge fed authority over public land

Utah Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman , is introducing legislation that he says would declare any new wild land designation from federal government null and void. Wimmer says that under the new legislation if there are "any further attempts" by the government to "lock up" Utah public lands it will not be recognized by the state of Utah. "And the bill goes further to say, that the sheriffs in the state, and it also includes the governor in this state, to do whatever they need to do to maintain access to those lands," he says. "There is no doubt, it is a direct challenge. It is a law that will put us in complete and direct opposition to what the feds are doing to our lands." Pat Shea lead the Bureau of Land Management for President Bill Clinton. He says Wimmer's proposal will lose the state credibility and money...more