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SALT LAKE CITY – The state of Utah filed a lawsuit Friday against the federal government over an Obama administration plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West eligible for federal wilderness protection.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert called the plan a "midnight ambush." He agreed that wilderness areas deserve protection but said the federal policy circumvents state efforts to determine what areas should be deemed wilderness and whether it would harm Utah's economy.
Herbert, a Republican, said he hoped Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming would soon join the lawsuit. The three states also have Republican governors. A spokesman for the Wyoming attorney general's office said the state is considering its options. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter also planned to review the lawsuit.
"We will have further discussions about the concerns raised by the state of Utah. Clearly we have very similar concerns," said Otter spokesman Jon Hanian.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said his state would "participate and support" the lawsuit.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Herbert claims the new policy, announced Dec. 23, has no statutory authority and should be overturned. He insisted the order sets aside years of work by the state that would now have to be redone.
"How many do-overs do we need?" he said.
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said she had no comment on the lawsuit.
A budget deal approved by Congress earlier this month includes language that prohibits the Interior Department from spending money to implement the wilderness policy. GOP lawmakers had complained the wilderness plan would circumvent Congress' authority and could be used to declare a vast swath of public land off-limits to oil-and-gas drilling.
The so-called "wild lands" policy would restore eligibility for wilderness protection to millions of acres of public lands, reversing a Bush-era policy that opened some Western lands to commercial development.
Salazar calls the new policy a commonsense solution that would help the agency better manage public lands, waters and wildlife, but critics accuse him of a land-grab that would lock up millions of prime acres in the West.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert called the plan a "midnight ambush." He agreed that wilderness areas deserve protection but said the federal policy circumvents state efforts to determine what areas should be deemed wilderness and whether it would harm Utah's economy.
Herbert, a Republican, said he hoped Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming would soon join the lawsuit. The three states also have Republican governors. A spokesman for the Wyoming attorney general's office said the state is considering its options. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter also planned to review the lawsuit.
"We will have further discussions about the concerns raised by the state of Utah. Clearly we have very similar concerns," said Otter spokesman Jon Hanian.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said his state would "participate and support" the lawsuit.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Herbert claims the new policy, announced Dec. 23, has no statutory authority and should be overturned. He insisted the order sets aside years of work by the state that would now have to be redone.
"How many do-overs do we need?" he said.
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said she had no comment on the lawsuit.
A budget deal approved by Congress earlier this month includes language that prohibits the Interior Department from spending money to implement the wilderness policy. GOP lawmakers had complained the wilderness plan would circumvent Congress' authority and could be used to declare a vast swath of public land off-limits to oil-and-gas drilling.
The so-called "wild lands" policy would restore eligibility for wilderness protection to millions of acres of public lands, reversing a Bush-era policy that opened some Western lands to commercial development.
Salazar calls the new policy a commonsense solution that would help the agency better manage public lands, waters and wildlife, but critics accuse him of a land-grab that would lock up millions of prime acres in the West.
