The Department of Justice says Utah gave up the rights to the federal lands within its boundaries when it joined the union in 1896.

It remains to be seen whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Utah’s lawsuit filed in August, which argues about 18.5 million acres of federally-controlled public land should be transferred to the state’s control.

Utah is ignoring the Constitution, centuries of history and past Supreme Court rulings in its demand for the federal government to give up public land inside the state's boundaries, the Biden administration argues.

The federal government’s response to Utah’s lawsuit seeking to take over public land says the state’s legal challenge is “without merit.”