SALT LAKE CITY – A study released recently indicates Utah could generate some serious money and job creation by developing resources on federally owned lands.
The study, The Economic Value of Energy Resources on Federal Lands in the Rocky Mountain Region, was published by Dr. Timothy J. Considine, who is a professor of energy economics at the University of Wyoming.
The report indicates that Utah could add $6.7 billion to its economy each year, which would include creating 58,000 jobs, by developing oil, gas and renewable energy resources on federal owned land within the state.
Carl Graham, director of the Sutherland Institute for Self-Government in the West, spoke about the study’s findings.
“The biggest point of the study is that we have enormous wealth under and above our lands in both renewable and nonrenewable energy development potential,” he said. “So we need to look at that and look at the costs and benefits of energy development to the economy, the state’s coffers and to the jobs in the state.”
