The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Utah's lawsuit seeking control of 18.5 million acres of federal land. Why it matters: State officials put on a costly campaign of TV ads and other marketing, to encourage SCOTUS to take up the case.

Utah filed its lawsuit against the United States government last August. The state argued that it is deprived of more than one-third of the land within its border, deeming the amount of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management “unconstitutional” and a federal policing of power.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up Utah's public lands lawsuit, but those for and against the case believe the argument isn't over.