Utah Legislature: Lawmakers, others protest against federal government at the 'take back Utah' rally

SALT LAKE CITY — To cheers and raucous applause and amid banners imploring that public lands be kept open, more than 300 people filled the Capitol rotunda Tuesday to declare they plan to "take back Utah" and to say "no" to any more national monuments.

Spearheaded by GOP lawmakers Mike Noel, R-Kanab, and Chris Herrod, R-Provo, the largest rally of the legislative session so far this year drew participants from all corners of the state, with Noel shouting out to solicit cries of support from most every county in Utah.

He and Herrod also were joined by 27 other lawmakers, including House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, who declared they stood in unity to convey the message that the federal government has gone too far in its mandates and restrictive policies.

"There's a sentiment in all 50 states that the federal government's power has swung too far," Clark said, and there's a "pushback" being expressed in many of the anti-federal government bills being run on the Hill. Those bills, based on the e-mails he says he has received, are a "reflection of the constituency I represent."

Herrod used the rally to galvanize support for a trio of bills he and Rep. Ken Sumison, R-American Fork, hope to get passed that would pave the way for the state to regain control over access to school trust lands and resource-rich land that are under the purview of federal land managers.

Earlier in the day, private attorney Mike Lee, also a GOP candidate challenging U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, for his seat, said he believed the state has a credible legal battle to mount, despite critics who say otherwise.

"There are also those who say we have to maintain a good relationship. … I don't know about you, but I am tired of Utah being a lapdog of the federal government."

Multiple organizations were represented at the rally, including Utah Shared Access Alliance, an advocacy group that pushes for policies that allow multi-use of public lands.

"This is about having access," spokesman Mike Swenson told a cheering ground, reminding people of the betrayal felt by Utahns in 1996 when President Bill Clinton designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

"It wasn't pretty last time, it won't be pretty next time. Don't drink the Kool-Aid. … There should be no more monuments in the state of Utah — none."

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