Washington - The Bureau of Land Management would have to sell off some 132,000 acres of public land in Utah and more than 3 million acres total in the West under legislation Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduced Wednesday.

The Utah Republican's measure orders the Interior secretary to sell all lands identified as excess in a 1997 study by the Clinton administration and sets up a process for 10 states to recoup those parcels for private development.

"There's no doubt in my mind there are certain areas worth saving and protecting and designating as wilderness," Chaffetz said, "but there are some parts of the land that really serve no public purpose, so let's sell them back to private hands."

The BLM is the largest land-holder in the state, managing some 23 million acres, and local officials argue that the huge swaths of public lands shrink their tax base and deprive residents of use of hills and fields they've historically used.

All money from the sale of the public lands would be used to pay off the national debt under Chaffetz's bill.

The BLM declined comment on the bill until it had time to review the legislation and is asked to testify on Capitol Hill about the measure.

See the article in its entirety at sltrib.com.

See also the Daily Herald for additional analysis.