Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes congratulates Anthony (Tony) Rampton on his retirement. For 12 years, Tony has been the legal authority on Utah public lands issues, guiding the state through contentious cases like Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Escalante, and many others.
Tony’s passion for public lands remains his legacy, making him an excellent attorney on these issues. Interestingly, he spent most of his 51-year career as a civil trial lawyer in private firms, specializing in natural resources and public lands in later years. He said he thoroughly enjoyed his job at the AG’s office.
Tony said: “Because there is so much public land in Utah, there is natural tension between the federal government and Utah state, county, and city governments. It exhibits itself in many ways, but the federal government has the upper hand – power and resource-wise. But local residents live, work, recreate and worship on these lands, so we need to push back against those federal government interests; otherwise, they’ll run roughshod over us.”
Many critical public lands issues are pending, but Tony will be fishing, reading, writing, and traveling.
Congratulations Tony!
