Counties deploy new Utah law in fight over wild horses

As the Shingle Creek Fire spread two years ago, Kane and Iron county officials fumed, blocked by federal land managers from attacking it with the four bulldozers the counties wanted to deploy. That frustration and others led to HB164, which called for empowering Utah’s local government officials to act on public lands when they believe federal mismanagement is endangering public health and safety. But the 2013 law’s first target is not the beetle-killed timber that lawmakers fear the U.S. Forest Service is not thinning fast enough, creating wildfire risks. Instead, Iron and Beaver counties are using it to sail into an uncharted legal area as they threaten to pull federally protected wild horses from the West Desert range. To enjoy that safeguard, Iron and Beaver must demonstrate their claim that the horse overpopulation constitutes an "imminent threat" to public health, safety and welfare. Iron County has consulted with the office, which has yet to develop an interpretation of what constitutes such a threat, says Harry Souvall, who heads the AG’s public lands division. HB164 was designed to give counties greater leverage over how the BLM and U.S. Forest Service administer land within their borders. These agencies lack of promptness in authorizing timber sales and other actions has long angered local officials. This past session, HB67 expanded the scope of the law to cover lands administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It also requires counties to consult with the Utah Attorney General as they prepare to take action on federal land, and says state lawyers will serve as a go-between with the feuding state and federal agencies...more