Land Use

The SEUALG region comprises more than 11.2 million acres. Approximately two thirds are owned and managed by the federal government, either the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or US Forest Service (USFS). Of the remaining land, 13% are Tribal lands, 10% is owned by the State of Utah, and 10% is in private ownership. The high percentage of federal lands in the area has ramifications on those living in the region. First, local economies are significantly dependent on the region’s public lands, and yet decisions regarding these lands are made by agencies required to consider the desires from a wide range of stakeholders, including those outside the region. This leads to land use decisions that may not focus specifically on the interest of those who are directly affected by the decisions. This opinion is well stated by the San Juan County Commission:

 “The County Commission feels strongly that land management is enhanced (improved) when the State, County and Native American tribes are involved in  management discussions and decision making.”

San Juan County in regards to the Public Lands Initiative (PLI) [1]

A second major issue tied to the imbalance in land ownership is the inability to generate property taxes from federally owned lands. Property taxes are a fundamental source of revenues from which communities pay for services to their citizens, such as police and fire protection, schools, and road maintenance. While Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and receipt sharing returned to states from federal revenues help offset the lack of local revenue [2], counties would prefer to have the self determination of generating monies locally.

The following table shows land ownership by agency and by county based on GIS analysis of the land ownership status dataset maintained by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA).

Private Property
Private lands are regulated by land use ordinances and zoning districts, as approved by local and county governments. Zoning districts, and the regulations established within the zoning districts, are authorized by Utah State Code 17-27a-505 and municipalities 10-9a-505. Land use ordinance and zoning maps are legislative decisions and established through planning processes open to public discussion and adopted by county and city councils [3].

Applicable County Land Use Plans:

• Carbon County Master Plan (1997)
  • Public Lands Addendum
• Emery County General Plan, Revised (2012)
• Grand County General Plan (2012)
• San Juan Master Plan (2008)

US Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
BLM lands in the SEUALG region are managed by BLM Field Offices in Moab, Monticello, and Price. Land use decisions for all BLM lands are made according to mandates spelled out in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. FLPMA requires the BLM to manage lands under multiple-use philosophy [4]. A component of FLPMA is the requirement for an open and public land use planning process in the development of resource management plans (RMP). Each BLM Field Office must develop a RMP to guide future land use activities on public lands.The RMP defines goals, objectives, and rules for commercial and extractives industries,transportation, recreation, and conservation. To complete a RMP, the BLM follows planning procedures spelled out in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Applicable BLM resource management plans:

• Moab Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (2008).
• Moab Master Leasing Plan and Draft Resource Management Plan Amendments/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (2015).
• Monticello Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (2008).
• Price Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (2008).

US Forest Service (USFS)
The only national forest in the region is the Manti-La Sal National Forest (MLS), which is spread across all four SEUALG counties. The MLS is split into three areas based on the three distinct forested areas in the region. This included the Manti (Wasatch Plateau), La Sal-Moab (La Sal Mountains), and La Sal-Monticello (Abajo Mountains).

The US Forest Service (USFS) manages land use decisions by developing forest plans under the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-588). The most current guidance for implementing the Act is the 2012 Planning Rule; this timeline provides a history of the USFS planning process. Forest plans also require consideration of alternatives and public input under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. This provides an open planning process to assist land managers in understanding stakeholders’ desires for various land uses as well as identifying potential impacts of those uses. The most recent planning document for this forest is the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan from 1986. However, the MLS announced in early 2016 they will be rewriting the Forest Plan.

Applicable MLS planning documents:

• Land and Resource Management Plan (1986)
• Forest Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Report (1992–2000)

National Parks, Monuments, and Recreation Areas
The National Park Service (NPS) manages two National Parks, four National Monuments, and one National Recreation Area across 589,000 acres. Unlike lands managed by the BLM and USFS, these lands are managed by NPS exclusively to protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources within their boundaries. These lands are bound by Federal Statute (36 CFR Chapter 1-7).

Land use is guided by management plans as follows:

• Arches National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Capitol Reef National Monument (2,092 acres in Emery County)
• Hovenweep National Monument
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
  • Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Other Federal Lands
A few miles south of Green River in Grand County lies within the 2,535-acre White Sands Launch Complex, also known as Utah Launch Complex and Green River Launch Complex. This area is owned by the federal government.

Utah Department of Natural Resources (UDNR)
The UDNR is responsible for about 70,543 acres of land as state parks, wildlife reserves/management areas, and state sovereign lands. State parks are managed by the UDNR State Parks Office, wildlife areas are managed by the Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and state sovereign lands are managed under the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL). In general, state parks and wildlife areas are managed primarily for resource protection and recreation. State sovereign lands include the Colorado and Green rivers below the ordinary high water mark.

State parks within the SEUALG region. Acreage tabulated from GIS analysis of SITLA land ownership data.

State Wildlife Areas within the SEUALG region (none in San Juan County). Acreage tabulated from GIS analysis of SITLA land ownership data.

Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA)
There are 1,028,126 acres of SITLA trust lands distributed across the SEUALG area. SITLA is directed by Utah Administrative Code to maximize commercial gain from these properties through sale, lease, or exchange. These transactions occur through sales and leases of individual properties but also through large-scale land and mineral right consolidations.
Acreage tabulated from GIS analysis of SITLA land ownership data.

Tribal Lands
Tribal lands are sovereign lands not subject to local or state governments. However, tribal governments must be consulted during planning processes involving lands with historical Native American uses.
Tribal Governments in the region include the following;

• Grand County
  • Ute Indian Tribe (Uintah and Ouray Reservation)
• San Juan County
  • Navajo Nation
  • White Mesa Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

Other Land Use Issues
Broadband Internet is a vital resource connecting local residents to the rest of the world. Wireless Internet access is widely available across the region, but access to high-speed Internet is not. While Carbon County and Emery County residents have access to speeds above 1 Gbps, San Juan county residents have speeds up to just 25 Mbps using DSL and 10 Mbps using wireless. Furthermore, only a quarter of San Juan County residents get those speeds; the majority have slower speeds [5].

Summary of broadband characteristics for the four SEUALG counties from National Broadband Map

Appropriate and allowable uses for lands are defined through statute and land use codes specific to the local, state, or federal government that has jurisdiction over the lands. For most land, decisions are made through formal and systematic planning processes. The best land use decisions are made through planning processes, which include open public participation, including local stakeholders, and take into consideration potential impacts to the social, economic, and natural environment. Though this is not the case for some federal and state properties, which are managed for specific purposes, such as for lands owned or managed by SITLA, tribal governments, and the Department of Defense.

Best management practices (BMPs) related to local, state, and federal land use decisions generally focus on getting involved with planning processes early and often. For BLM and USFS lands, planning documents are required to be developed with the input of local communities. And although federal agencies must also follow federal statutes and consider comments from other stakeholders, the more prepared local communities can be to assert their objectives for public lands, the better off they will be.

“Land use” is not a resource in the same sense as most other resources to be considered in county resource management plans. In this case, land use is the designated, preferred, or allowable uses of a given piece of land based on the planning preferences of the landowner or jurisdiction responsible for the land. The implementation and management of those uses, such as for agriculture, wildlife, motorized recreation, wilderness, etc., are examined and discussed in their own respective resource planning sections.  

The federal government distributes PILT to states and counties based on a formula that accounts for the amount of federal land within a county, its population, and receipt-sharing payments [6] [7].

The Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office commissioned an extensive study evaluating the potential cost-benefit of A Transfer of Federal Lands to the State of Utah [8]. At the heart of the evaluation is an assessment of whether sufficient revenues could be generated by State management of these lands to offset the costs incurred by management. Regardless of cost, counties would welcome more influence over land use decisions made on these lands.

The type of land use determines possible impacts. Use the various data layers to identify the existing use of land. Combine layers to identify competing or conflicting uses.

• Surface Land Ownership. A comprehensive surface land ownership layer maintained by SITLA. Use this data to determine land management agency or jurisdiction responsible for land use decisions for specific locations.
• Water Related Land Use. Comprehensive land use delineation for urban and agricultural areas of Utah. This data is primarily useful to quantify land use types within urban and agricultural areas and to track changes over time.
• BLM RMP Data. These layers delineate the BLM’s Record of Decision for lands managed by the three local field offices. Use this data to determine how the BLM intends to manage the lands within its jurisdiction. See table below for specific layers included in the map.
• Wilderness, Roadless Areas, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). Use these layers to determine areas of the county either designated as wilderness, have wilderness characteristics, or critical environmental concerns.
• OHV data, Recreation Management Areas, Trails use to identify areas with recreational land uses.
• Grazing Data. Use to identify areas of the county that are being grazed.
• BLM Visual Resource Management. Use to understand BLM’s visual management object for an area (Visual classes).