The letter also touts a Utah court's takeover of the FLDS Church's real-estate arm, the United Effort Plan Trust, Arizona's push to place the Colorado City Unified School District in financial receivership, and a crackdown on police officers from the polygamous communities. In addition, the attorneys general said they have made efforts to reach out to people in closed societies through the Safety Net Committee and a town hall meeting scheduled in St. George on May 8.

"These are positive steps and have brought significant changes in the previously isolated communities controlled by the FLDS, but we have a long way to go," Goddard and Shurtleff wrote.

The Utah Attorney General has said he tried to push the U.S. Justice Department to get involved in a probe into crimes within polygamous groups but got nowhere because federal agencies had more interest in terrorism and homeland security. In his criticism, Reid had said he would push the Justice Department to investigate crimes involving polygamy.

Their letter also notes that a federal grant grant to help aid agencies in deal with domestic violence and child abuse in the closed societies was cut. In his conversation with Reid, neither side apologized for their remarks, Shurtleff said, but called the senator's phone call "very positive and a step forward."

"We'll just see what happens next. We hope it happens," Shurtleff said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com