"Western resentment of federal oversight tends to surge during Democratic administrations"

Western resentment of federal oversight tends to surge during Democratic administrations, says Bob Keiter, a law professor who directs the University of Utah’s Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment.

The Sagebrush Rebellion arose during the Carter administration. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration faced the Wise Use Movement.

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Amid the bickering, oil and gas developers, environmentalists, recreational businesses and county leaders have been quietly taking field trips together and identifying Utah federal lands they agree should be preserved or developed, whether for energy, timber, livestock or ATV trails.

The "grand bargain" initiative is driven primarily by Utah’s Rep. Rob Bishop, a pro-development Republican.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile/57876473-68/blm-horses-county-says.html.csp

I saw this while I was looking for more info on the connection of these 'protests' to the push behind these to get more state control of federal land by ALEC/Koch for oil and gas.

Very coincidental that the two previous 'rebellions' came during Democratic administrations and apparently died down during Republican ones.

So, if they can't legislate, they generate, push and put media focus behind the astro turf campaigns.