AI-generated summary, reviewed by Better Utah staff.

Utah law already asserts that the state, not the federal government, holds governing authority over most federally controlled land within its borders, and this bill expands on that position by formally declaring that the state has a jurisdictional interest in managing large tracts of public land — defined here as "landscape-scale lands," meaning connected parcels of 250,000 acres or more. The bill directs the state's Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office to create a digital map of all such lands by 2028, with data layers showing public access points, priority mineral deposits, and areas designated as "landscape public nuisance areas" — meaning forested lands the state believes are ecologically unhealthy due to factors like overgrowth, disease, or high fire fuel loads. The Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands is directed to help identify those problem areas, and the office must report to the Federalism Commission annually on the map's updates and recommendations for mineral extraction zones. This bill primarily sets the stage for Utah to more aggressively assert control over federally managed lands — most of which are currently overseen by agencies like the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management — which could affect how those lands are managed for recreation, conservation, grazing, and resource extraction.