The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit by Utah that argued the federal government was unconstitutionally holding onto vast, unreserved swathes of the Republican-led state's territory comprising more than a third of the land within its borders.

The Supreme Court is turning back a push by the state of Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a bid from the state of Utah to seize control of federally-owned lands. The court denied the state’s petition, writing in a brief statement: “The motion for