Articles

Author: Reed Hopper Utah officials are not very happy with the Secretary of Interior's latest land grab.  Nor should they be.  As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, Secretary Salazar is recanting on a hard fought settlement agreement and unilaterally making new law.   Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar annou ...

Author: Daniel Himebaugh The State of Utah has filed a federal lawsuit to invalidate the Department of the Interior's "Wild Lands" policy.  The Wild Lands policy took effect late last year, when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued Secretarial Order 3310.  Pursuant to the Order, the Bureau of Land Management must inventor ...

Last week, the Utah Supreme Court revived a challenge to the Utah Department of Transportation’s abuse of eminent domain. The Department needed a small part (1.2 acres) of a larger parcel (15 acres) for a light rail project. Instead of condemning the part of the property necessary for the project, the Department decided to take … ...

PLF’s big win last week on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners, striking down an unconstitutional federal regulation that had devastating effects on a community—all to protect the Utah prairie dog—continues to garner media attention. Last Friday, I appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss the case. That i ...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners is a group of Utah property owners and local government that pushed back against unconstitutional federal regulations that barred them from building homes, starting businesses, and, in the case of the local government, protecting an airport and cemetery from a thriving rodent population. As report ...

Fox Business Network’s John Stossel devotes his program tonight (at 9pm Eastern) to the “Control Freaks” in government. I join Stossel to discuss PLF’s recent victory in the prairie dog case, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners, one of whom joins me. Regular readers will recall that federal burea ...

If you missed last nights Stossel program‘s coverage of PLF’s prairie dog victory, you can still catch it this Sunday at 10 pm EST on FoxNews. A clip is also available on the show’s homepage. … ...

Many friend-of-the-court briefs have been filed supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners‘ challenge to the federal government’s unconstitutional Utah prairie dog regulation. These briefs are a reminder of how important the issue is and how unnecessary the federal regulation — and its immense burdens on indivi ...

If species aren’t protected under the Endangered Species Act’s burdensome approach, they’ll receive no protection at all. This is an all too common refrain. But it’s a false choice. There are many ways to try to conserve and recover species. The ESA’s punitive approach is not the only one, nor even the best one. Take ...