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Voters reject Proposition 120 on sovereignty over state resources

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Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012
By Connor Radnovich
Cronkite News

Voters have rejected a ballot measure to declare state sovereignty over Arizona’s forests and other natural resources.

Cronkite News bases its projection on unofficial returns showing Proposition 120 trailing by a wide margin.

The measure would have amended the Arizona Constitution to say that the state “declares its sovereign and exclusive authority and jurisdiction over the air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources within its boundaries.”

The proposition didn’t cover Native American reservations, national parks and military installations.

Supporters said sovereignty over forests, for example, would put Arizona in charge of managing logging and thinning to prevent catastrophes such as the 2011 Wallow Fire.

Opponents called the measure a land grab and argued that the state government is in no position to manage forests and other resources now controlled by the federal government.