On behalf of its beneficiaries, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) joined the state of Utah in a lawsuit against the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, challenging recent federal land use plans that greatly restrict use of millions of acres of land for the purpose of protecting the greater sage-grouse. “Federal sage-grouse management areas capture hundreds of thousands of acres of Utah trust lands,” said SITLA Director David Ure. “Broad and restrictive federal policies blanketing Western states disregard Utah’s successful efforts to manage sage-grouse populations and habitat.” “SITLA shares Governor Gary R. Herbert’s concerns and contends the federal restrictions are illegal and unreasonable, and undercut our agency’s constitutional mandate to generate revenue to support trust lands beneficiaries, the largest of which is the K-12 public school system,” added Ure. Since 2003, SITLA has generated $1.3 billion for trust lands beneficiaries, including public schools, teaching colleges, state hospitals, and state universities.