Garfield County commissioner urges formal county role, warns federal land taxes fall short

Garfield County Commissioner Jerry Taylor told the House subcommittee that counties with large shares of federal land are responsible for valuable but costly services and should have a formal role in federal land decisions.

Taylor, representing a county he said is larger than Connecticut and with a population of about 5,200 residents, said "over 90% of the land is federally managed in Garfield County" and described how the county must maintain roads, provide law enforcement, conduct search and rescue, and deliver emergency services across an expansive landscape. He told members that federal receipts tied to local access and development — such as oil and gas production, grazing fees and timber sales — support local schools, roads and public safety.

Taylor urged Congress to streamline federal permitting with set timelines, protect Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and other revenue sharing programs, and formalize county input in federal land‑use planning. He said constrained access and lengthy permitting add costs and can effectively lose a year's construction window in short season areas. Taylor presented local examples — Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase‑Escalante National Monument and Dixie National Forest — as economic drivers that also strain county budgets when visitors and emergencies rise.

Why it matters: Counties with large federal land footprints deliver first‑response services and bear costs that federal receipts and PILT are intended to offset; local officials testified that current formulas and processes do not fully cover those costs and that substantive county engagement in federal planning is necessary to align projects with local capacity.