SALT LAKE CITY — A leader in the effort to force the transfer of Western federal lands to state control believes calling a convention of states to change the U.S. Constitution is the best path forward.

Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, said states’ rights advocates are already laying the groundwork for a convention.

The federal government owns nearly half of the land in the West, which Ivory believes has tied up resources and put the region’s states at an economic disadvantage. He contends public lands are also in poor health due to federal neglect.

Under Article 5 of the Constitution, two-thirds of states may call a convention, and proposed amendments must be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.

Eight states have already passed resolutions calling for a convention. Idaho has a bill in the works to join the list. Thus far, the constitution has been revised only through congressional action.

“Now millions of people are working to convene a convention of states,” said Ivory, who is a lawyer and was picked as the first senior legislative adviser to the Convention of States Project.

The project has volunteers working in all 50 states to “restore the checks and balances that were put in place on our federal government.”

Ivory and Idaho Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, participated in a simulated convention of states last September in Virginia, addressing a host of perceived federal overreaches.

Loertscher said the bill he’s drafting to codify Idaho’s support of a convention should easily pass the House of Representatives, and he’s seeking help in the Senate. He said the bill endorses a convention to address “fiscal matters, overreach of the federal government and term limits,” and it could encompass public lands transfer.

“With all of the federal lands in Idaho, we’re operating with one hand tied behind our back,” Loertscher said. “We don’t have the tax base for all of that land.”

Ivory’s home state is also pursuing litigation and congressional action to force land transfers. Utah has conducted a legal analysis and set aside $5 million for a federal court battle, and Ivory hopes to “see a much more constitutionally focused Supreme Court.”

Ivory believes President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., for Secretary of Interior signifies a roadblock toward a congressional solution. Zinke, an avid hunter, has publicly opposed transferring federal lands.

“(Zinke) walked out on the Republican National Committee and declined to become a delegate because the transfer of public land was part of the GOP platform,” Ivory said.

Brian Brooks, executive director of Idaho Wildlife Foundation, believes Idaho sportsmen overwhelmingly oppose public lands transfer, due to the threat of lost public access and the potential for states to sell the land. Idaho has sold 41 percent of its former state lands, he said.

Brooks believes any avenue toward forcing a public lands sale is a long shot, but he’s taking the threat seriously, as advocates of the concept are well financed.

“I feel like there are interests who do not represent the majority of Americans who are going to surround Zinke,” Brooks said.