Utah Senators and Representatives including Representative Blake Moore have joined together to request an explanation from the Secretary of the Interior for the disproportionately low amount of funding awarded to Utah compared to its proportion of federal lands and its contribution to the federal government. The letter reads in part: Dear Secretary Haaland, We write to express our frustration with the recent announcement of funding for public lands and national parks in Utah. The Department of Interior made an investment of $1.6 billion in deferred maintenance funding for critical projects nationwide, yet Utah, with 67 percent federal landownership, received just $7.3 million dollars. Utah’s project funding award is shockingly low compared to the State’s nearly $81.5 million dollar contribution in federal royalties. As you are aware from your recent visit, nearly two-thirds of Utah is public land; its five National Parks and eight National Monuments span more than 2.2 million acres, and its backlog is sizeable at $225 million…To put our award in perspective, just 9.25 percent of the Commonwealth of Virginia is public lands, yet it will receive $247.5 million dollars – more than enough to cover our entire state’s backlog.” The group requested a response from Haaland explaining the formula used to calculate each state’s award. The Uintah Basin is a major contributor to the royalties paid to the federal government.
