Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke was among 50 politicians from nine states who gathered at the Utah state Capitol on Friday to discuss ways states can take over management of federal lands, reporter Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News reports.  “It’s time the states in the West come of age,” Bedke said. “We’re every bit as capable of managing the lands in our boundaries as the states east of Colorado.”

The Idaho Legislature has an interim committee studying the issue; it also passed a resolution in 2013 demanding that federal lands in Idaho be transferred to the state. You can read Richert’s report here; the Salt Lake Tribune has a full report here.