The Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office (PLIPCO) reported to the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee that Utah has underused the Bureau of Land Management’s Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) process and that counties need assistance to prepare complete proposals.

Reg Johnson, director of PLIPCO, and Dylan Hoyt, deputy director, presented a ten‑year synthesis of R&PP actions across Utah’s 29 counties. The report identified parks, landfills and some community facilities as typical R&PP uses and recommended closer coordination with BLM and a staffed liaison to help counties avoid incomplete applications that slow BLM review.

Hoyt and PLIPCO officials said the R&PP pipeline is narrow: since 2014, 38 applications from 14 counties were filed; ten were patented into ownership, ten leased, 11 are pending, four were withdrawn and one denied. They noted federal staffing constraints (realty and land survey resources) and additional environmental review needs — for example, ESA and NEPA analyses in areas with sage‑grouse or prairie dogs can add substantial review time. PLIPCO suggested embedding a state FTE with BLM to help advance R&PP proposals and to identify lands appropriate for transfer for recreation and community use.

No committee action was taken; committee members asked agencies to consider whether to pursue staffing or budget requests.