July 23, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on Utah’s Third District Court Decision in SUWA v. Cox – 7.23.25
During court hearing over case, the State of Utah conceded that taxpayer-funded “Stand for Our Land” litigation and public relations campaign is blatantly misleading
Contacts:
Steve Bloch, Legal Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (steve@suwa.org)
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, Utah’s Third District Court dismissed a lawsuit, SUWA v. Cox, filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) in December 2024. During a July 14, 2025 court hearing over the lawsuit, the State of Utah conceded that the taxpayer-funded “Stand for our Land” Litigation and public relations campaign, which implies that federal public lands would be turned over to the state of Utah for management, is blatantly misleading. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.
“We’re disappointed with today’s decision but grateful that the true intent of the state’s lawsuit has been made clear: to force the sale of millions of acres of public lands to the highest bidder and not to acquire these lands for the state, as its deliberately misleading media campaign suggests,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director for SUWA. “It’s our position that with the repeated statements made by Governor Cox – doubling down on the state’s intent to refile its lawsuit in federal district court – Judge May had what he needed to proceed with our case and conclude that Utah’s constitution prohibits the state from bringing a lawsuit like this in the first place. We’ll review today’s decision and consider potential next steps, including refiling this case if the state brings its lawsuit in federal district court.”
Additional information:
Utah’s Supreme Court Filing
In August 2024, Utah filed a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court seeking an order (1) holding that it’s unconstitutional for the federal government to own and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans and (2) directing the United States to begin “disposing” of 18.5 million acres of BLM-managed lands in the state. In January 2025, the Supreme Court rejected Utah’s lawsuit in a one-line order. Undeterred, Utah Governor Spencer Cox has repeatedly stated his intention for the State to pursue its land grab lawsuit in federal district court.
SUWA v. Cox
In December 2024, SUWA sued Governor Cox and then-Attorney General Reyes in Third District Court (state court) alleging that the land grab lawsuit violated the Utah Constitution’s provision that the “people inhabiting this State do affirm and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within [its] boundaries.”
July 14 Hearing
At the July 14 hearing, the court heard oral argument from SUWA and the state on SUWA’s motion to amend its complaint and further its legal and factual arguments. The state opposed SUWA’s motion and argued that the case should be dismissed.
The State of Utah is currently spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a legal and media campaign with the goal of forcing the federal government to sell more than 18.5 million acres of public lands in Utah managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Learn more in this quick video.
Media campaign
In support of its dangerous lawsuit and in an effort to confuse the public, the State is spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money on a propaganda campaign – dubbed “Let Utah Manage Utah Lands” – that fundamentally misstates both the facts and goals of its unprecedented lawsuit. Recent reporting on the State’s propaganda campaign highlighted its use of AI and paid actors as part of the stagecraft to boost Utah’s message.
Legal arguments
As the State conceded in its legal filings, the public lands that are the target of its lawsuit were never owned by Utah. Instead, Native American Tribes have lived in what is present-day Utah from time immemorial and the federal government acquired all the lands comprising Utah from Mexico in 1848.
As a condition of entry to the Union, in 1896 the citizens of Utah “forever disclaim[ed] all right and title” to the unappropriated public lands within its borders. The State’s lawsuit seeks to re-write the agreement that allowed it to become a part of the United States. This language was a condition of statehood and is found in both Utah’s Constitution and the Utah Enabling Act, which led to Utah’s entry into the Union.
If successful, the State’s lawsuit will not result in public lands automatically being given to Utah but instead would start a “disposal” process which could result in the sale of millions of acres of public lands to the highest bidder.
A 2016 report by the Public Lands Subcommittee of the Conference of Western Attorneys General evaluated the same legal claims raised by Utah in its 2024 land grab filing and concluded that they are contrary to more than a hundred years of legal precedent. Hunters, anglers, and wildlife advocates have all singled-out Utah’s lawsuit as a direct threat to the future of America’s public lands.
A map of lands at risk in the state’s Supreme Court lawsuit.
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
