Utah leaders aim to keep dispute with the feds civil

The level of vitriol aimed at the federal government from residents of eastern Utah surprised even Rep. Rob Bishop, a Republican who is one of the stronger critics of Washington’s dominance over the West’s vast, arid lands. During a listening tour last year, Bishop and Rep. Jason Chaffetz met with residents whose families had grazed cattle or otherwise used public lands for generations, and their anger was close to erupting. "I clearly understand the outrage people have and why," Bishop recalled Thursday, arguing the Obama administration hasn’t been kind to rural Westerners. But, he added, "I was taken aback by a lot of the comments that people who ... are grazing on public lands were giving me. I was taken aback by the kind of anger that they had." That anger is now spilling out in Nevada and Utah and could possibly extend further as the long-simmering debate over public-land use has flared into armed conflicts and ultimatums — including the tense standoff between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, backed by militia members, and Bureau of Land Management officers. Western leaders are afraid Bundy could become the image in Americans’ minds symbolizing the fight over public lands. "Cliven Bundy should not be the face for public lands issues in Utah," Herbert said Thursday at the governor’s monthly news conference at KUED-TV. "Anytime you’ve got Americans lined up on one side and other Americans on the other side with guns pointed at each other, you’ve got a problem." The governor said attention on Bundy comes just as Utah has some momentum in its move for control over more federal lands, as neighboring states are joining it and as he says the state has made progress with the Obama administration...more