This week, the U.S. Supreme Court said it wouldn’t hear Utah’s case to reclaim land state leaders say should be theirs. The lawsuit, which was filed last August, challenged federal control over Bureau of Land Management (BLM) “unappropriated” land that encompasses approximately 18.5 million acres in Utah and is managed by BLM under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The lawsuit didn’t include national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, national forests, Tribal lands, or military properties. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz, and Attorney General Derek Brown said “they were disappointed in the court’s decision but noted that the decision does not prevent the state from filing the case in federal district court in the future,” according to The Salt Lake Tribune. 

In a statement issued Monday, they said: “We are also heartened to know the incoming [Trump] administration shares our commitments to the principle of ‘multiple use’ for these federal lands and is committed to working with us to improve land management. We will continue to fight to keep public lands in public hands because it is our stewardship, heritage and home.”

Some still believe in the issue, like Sen. John Curtis, who said, “I cannot emphasize enough that with 70% of our state controlled by the federal government, everyday life in Utah is affected by decisions made in Washington. Building roads, moving cattle and cleaning up campgrounds all require navigating a behemothic bureaucracy that’s stacked up against the average Utahn.”

While others supported the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Today’s actions serve as an important reminder that our public lands should not be privatized or exploited for short-term benefits,” said Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, calling the Supreme Court’s decision a “win for all Americans and the protection of our environment.”