Helping Small Rural Counties in Utah Participate in the Development of Federal Land Management Policy
Agricultural Issues
Trent Wilde
Extension Associate Professor
Utah State University Extension
Junction
Abstract
Many counties in the west have large percentages of federally owned land within their boundaries. How these lands are managed can have significant impacts on the local economies of these counties. Federal land management agencies are required to seek input from local county governments when establishing or changing significant land management policies. Although the intent of the legislation which created these requirements was to ensure local government input on how federal public lands within their boundaries are managed, the end result has been a process which limits local government involvement to those counties which have the knowledge and resources to monitor and respond to ongoing policy creation and adaptation. This has created a situation where many small counties who have an interest in being involved in the development of public land management policy have been precluded from doing so simply because they don't have the knowledge and resources to do so. In southern Utah’s Piute and Wayne Counties, Extension recognized the need for increased understanding of the federal land management policy process and has played a crucial role in educating local county governments. Although Extension recognized the need for increased understanding, there were no Extension personnel who specialized in this area. Addressing the need required local Extension personnel to educate themselves by spending many long hours researching legislation, policy and management practices in order to provide accurate information to local government officials. This increased awareness by local government officials has increased their ability to have meaningful impacts on the development of public land management policy. The recognition of the need for local county officials to be involved in federal land management policy was the result of extreme conflict between local government officials and the federal government. Many of the issues surrounding the conflict were rooted in misinformation about federal legislation and policy surrounding federal land grazing permits and their administration. As understanding has increased, participation in the public land management policy creation process has increased and conflict has decreased.
Authors: Trent Wilde
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Trent Wilde Extension Associate Professor, Utah State University Extension, Utah, 84740