In this episode of the Landscape, Kate and Aaron discuss Utah’s attempt to sue the federal government for control of over 18 million acres of federal public land with John Leshy, Professor Emeritus, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Leshy served as Solicitor (General Counsel) of the U.S. Department of the Interior throughout the Clinton administration and served in the Interior department in the Carter administration. Leshy discusses the underpinnings of Utah’s legal argument and explains why it’s likely to fail in court, if the U.S. Supreme Court even takes it up, which he says is also unlikely.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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• Utah lawsuit seeks state control over vast areas of federal land – Associated Press
  
• Bureau Of Land Management Announces Protection Of D-1 Alaska Public Lands – Alaska Sporting Journal
  

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• Are U.S. Public Lands Unconstitutional? – John Leshy
  

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Red Fleet Trails in Utah; Source: BLM Utah/Flickr 

The post How nuts is Utah’s land grab lawsuit? We ask law professor John Leshy appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.