Derek Dowsett is the Producer of the County Seat. Now entering his 11th season of the program, he has received what he considers a "Crash Course" in County Government.

The topic of Public Lands in the state has been a hot topic in recent years and continues even more so this year. Chad Booth sits down with Mark Ward from the Utah Association of Counties to discuss several pieces of legislation that came out of the legislature for 2014.

The program focused on several piece of legislation that deal with public lands in the state:

  • HB164 which creates the ability for states to create interstate compacts involving the transfer of public lands.
  • HB160 Recognizes the importance of wilderness protection and sets up the process for the state to make wilderness designations.
  • HB133 Creates a mechanism for the state to step in and manage National Parks in the event of another federal shutdown.
  • HB149 Clarifies the jurisdiction and authority of federal enforcement of state and local laws

You can find a complete list of public lands legislation for 2014 at:

http://americanlandscouncil.org/myportfolio/summary-of-ut-2014-transfer-of-public-lands-legislation/