U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) introduced a bill that would prohibit natural asset companies, or any similar entity, from entering into any agreement that would impact public land.
In October 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a rule that would allow natural asset companies (NACs) to own the rights to ecological performance, or natural assets. It would also allow NACs to license rights to minerals, water, or air from “sovereign nations or private landowners.”
However, this month, the rule was abruptly pulled after receiving widespread opposition, including from Curtis and Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks.
“Wall Street shouldn’t be allowed to control Utah’s land just to meet with ESG goals,” Curtis said. “Western communities rely on public lands for their livelihoods, recreation, and more. This rule, and any similar proposal to authorize natural asset companies, is a direct threat to that way of life.”
Curtis said that while the rule has been withdrawn for now, his bill would stop any similar rule from impacting Utah and other states from future versions of this proposal.
“The creation of natural asset companies (NACs) poses one of the greatest threats to rural America in our nation’s history. If NACs were to be permitted in the United States, private interests, including foreign-controlled sovereign wealth funds, could invest in a NAC to either purchase or manage public and private lands. In the case of private land, NACs could acquire the management rights to conservation easements without the landowners’ consent. Essential economic activities like farming, grazing, and energy extraction would be permanently prohibited on NAC-protected land, and recreating on Utah’s incredible natural lands could be curtailed,” Utah State Treasurer, Marlo Oaks said.
Oaks said it would be particularly devastating in Utah, where the federal government owns 67 percent of the land.