Utah County Declares BLM’s Authority ‘Is Not Recognized’ There

A protester, wearing an anti-Bureau of Land Management sign on his hat, listens to San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman at Centennial Park in Blanding, Utah on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Lyman organized an ATV protes... A protester, wearing an anti-Bureau of Land Management sign on his hat, listens to San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman at Centennial Park in Blanding, Utah on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Lyman organized an ATV protest ride into Recapture Canyon to show that the federal agency isn't the "supreme authority" and local residents have a right to have their opinions heard. The area has been closed to motorized use since 2007 when an illegal trail was found that cuts through Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites. The canyon is open to hikers and horseback riders. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Trent Nelson) MORE LESS
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A Utah county passed a resolution this month asserting that the authority of federal agents, specifically those of the Bureau of Land Management, to enforce state or local laws — even on federal land — would not be recognized within its borders.

The Carbon County Commission approved the resolution unanimously on June 4.

“Any such attempted exercise of law enforcement powers by an official of a land management agency IS NOT RECOGNIZED by Carbon County,” the resolution stated (caps in original), “and shall be deemed AN IMMINENT THREAT TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS OF CARBON COUNTY.”

In prefacing its case, the commission concluded “that Carbon County does not recognize any attempt by a federal official to try to enforce state or local criminal or civil laws on any lands in Carbon County, including any BLM or Forest Service lands.”

The resolution also demanded that any federal agent intending to take a law enforcement action “shall first declare his presence and intended action to the Sheriff of Carbon County.”

The move follows the standoff in Nevada earlier this year between the BLM and a militia supporting rancher Cliven Bundy. The resolution, however, did not mention Bundy or the standoff.

Read the resolution:

Carbon County BLM Resolution

(h/t Salt Lake Tribune)

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Notable Replies

  1. Where’s Andy Jackson when you need him, you nullify, I kick your ass.

  2. What’s next, secession? Or declaring themselves to b e all “sovereign citizens”?

  3. Avatar for jsfox jsfox says:

    Send in the Drones.

  4. More Tea Party madness. Can’t wait for the inevitable trumped-up opportunity to test this little experiment in sovereignty.

  5. Time to send in an army battalion to teach these nuts better.

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