Congressman Jim Hansen urges Utah lawmakers to protect Hill Air Force Base and criticizes federal environmental rules

Congressman Jim Hansen addressed the Utah House, urging state lawmakers to help protect Hill Air Force Base and to be attentive to federal policies he said threaten western industry and military installations. Hansen called Hill the state’s largest employer and said the base’s operations move significant economic activity through its gates.

Hansen described encroachment near the base as a serious problem, saying residential and institutional development can constrain flight operations and jeopardize the installation’s viability. "If something happened to Hill Field, that 200,000,000 surplus you've got goes down the drain and you're in a deficit position," he said, and he added that the base handles large-scale, sensitive work: "It's over $5,000,000,000 a year walked through there." (Congressman Jim Hansen)

He urged legislators to consider measures to reduce residential encroachment around flight paths and to coordinate with federal and local authorities on land-use protections. Hansen also described prior federal discussions and his outreach to the White House and agency officials, saying he and other Western lawmakers are pressing for approaches that balance conservation and local economic interests.

On federal environmental laws, Hansen criticized what he called excessive application of the Endangered Species Act and wetlands rules. He argued these rules have broadened over time and now impose costs on Western communities and industries: "The Endangered Species Act today is not working... I don't read the Constitution that says that the American public can find a ring tailed rupus on your ground and immediately say you can't use it anymore." (Congressman Jim Hansen)

Hansen warned that certain habitat-designation decisions could cost recreational and power-generation businesses, referencing proposals on the Colorado River fish and changes to hydroelectric peaking. He said the 1872 mining law and proposed grazing AUM reductions could sharply reduce local mining and cattle operations without sufficient accommodation. "If we went along with the AUMs that Mister Babbitt has proposed, we lose 62% of our cattle people in the state of Utah, they tell me at this particular time," he said.

Why it matters: Hill Air Force Base is a major employer and defense facility in northern Utah; any federal action that materially reduces its role or surrounding economic activity would have measurable budgetary and employment impacts locally. Hansen’s comments represent a federal lawmaker’s public appeal to state legislators to coordinate on land-use, conservation, and defense-readiness issues.

Next steps: Hansen answered questions from members and said he would follow up on a reported local concern about vehicle emissions testing for Utah County. He encouraged local resolutions and legislative attention to the land and water-use matters he described.