Dave Crockett (Bill Elliott) comes to the aid of ranchers living on the Yucca Strip, who want their area made part of the United States. A greedy land baron, however, wants the property as his own.
The story is set in Africa, where a band of cowboys, headed by Mix, embark on a search for their missing employer. They are accompanied in this venture by the boss' daughter, played by Sally Blane (sister of actress Loretta Young).
The Rancho Grande, a Texas border ranch, cut off from the law by a gang of outlaws led by ranch foreman Bart Lane, who is holding the elderly owner of the ranch, Sarah Burton, a prisoner. Tex Lowery, an undercover Texas Ranger, rescues Martha Williams, a nurse sent for by the ailing Sarah, from a stagecoach holdup by Lane's henchmen. He later convinces Laner that he is a wanted outlaw named Ed Carter, and gains entry to Rancho Grande. But the real Ed Carter shows up.
This "Red Ryder" entry stars Gordon "Wild Bill" Elliot as Ryder. The heroine is having troubles with the freight company that she owns. Time and again, her coaches are beset by hooded thieves. With Red Ryder on the job, the robbers haven't got a chance, but they put up a fight anyway.
An emergency at his Aunt's ranch gets Ed Randall leave from the Navy. He returns to find the water cut off and her note due the next day. When the man he seeks legal advice from is murdered, Ed is accused and he now finds himself in jail with a lynch mob forming outside.
With the backing of the Mayor, Brady is running a crooked gambling operation. When Sheriff Curt shuts him down, he reopens when the Mayor charters his place as a private club. When Curt decides to run for Mayor, he is made to shut down the popular Warren medicine show. With Curt now out of favor the Warrens decide to run their daughter for Mayor and Brady has a plan to stop her also.
Dan Hurley wants to sell wild horses and is trying to get the Wild Game Laws that protect them changed. To get his petition signed, his henchman paints his trained horse to look like the wild horse leader and has it kill a man. Johnny Revere finds traces of paint on a horse and tries to arrest Hurley and his men. But he is captured by the gang and is now slated to be the next victim of the trained horse.
Vera Ralston plays Joan Milna, who shares several thousand acres of valuable Montana timberland with her stepfather (John Alderson). Coveting Joan's property, lumber baron Eric Warren (Ray Collins) sends out his foreman Boyd Caldwell (Rod Cameron) to persuade her to sell. Instead, Caldwell falls in love with the girl, vowing to protect her trees from the eco-unfriendly Warren. Republic's wide-screen Naturama process is shown to good advantage throughout Spoilers of the Forest.
The Utah Kid was a late entry in Monogram's "Trail Blazers" series. These low-budget westerns usually featured three cowboy stars; this time, however, there are only two, Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson. Though neither star is a spring chicken, Steele is the younger of the two, so he's the "Utah Kid" by default. The plot, involving a gang of crooks who go around fixing rodeo results, was designed to accommodate yards and yards of stock footage.