General construction of chapteAlternative methods of construction contracting management.In 2016, the Utah Legislature opened up its wallet to a nonprofit called the Foundation for Integrated Resource Management (FIRM), one of several groups that have received millions in taxpayers dollars in recent years to push greater local and state control over Utah’s large expanses of federal land and imperiled wildlife.
But FIRM’s taxpayer-supported charge was specific:File lawsuits against the federal government on behalf of Utah counties. The goal was to reverse restrictive land-use policies as a way to promote “integrated” use of natural resources.
Four years and $400,000 later, FIRM has yet to pursue a single legal action, according to ethics complaints filed Tuesday with the IRS, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and Utah’s state auditor.