WYOMING — In a reversal on Thursday, Feb. 6, the Wyoming Senate reconsidered its rejection of SJ0002 (SJ2), a resolution that demanded the U.S. Congress to dispose of all federally-owned lands, except Yellowstone National Park, to the state. In a vote of 16 to 15, the state legislature narrowly passed the resolution to transfer nearly all of Wyoming’s public lands.
Teton County Representative Mike Yin told Buckrail on Friday, Feb. 7, that Senator Ogden Driskill of Devils Tower flipped the vote on the Senate Joint Resolution 2, “Resolution demanding equal footing,” which covers approximately 30 million acres in Wyoming, after initially opposing the action.
According to the Wyoming Legislative Service Office (WLSO), the federal government owns 50.6% of the total area within the state. This land includes Grand Teton National Park, eight national forests, Devils Tower National Monument, the Thunder Basin National Grassland and 18.4 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands.
During a press event on Jan. 14, Governor Mark Gordon told Wyoming journalists that his main priorities are to pursue a “net increase in state lands,” and to pave the way in energy development. He said that his goal of land acquisition would not be to remove public access, but to ensure more lands are under the purview of the state of Wyoming.
“Lease holders and permit holders will have a chance to look at a piece of land for acquisition,” Gordon said in his press address.
According to WyoFile, Senate Legislators discussed the economic benefits of owning the federal property and underlying minerals.
The vast majority of public lands are owned by federal resource agencies, including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, BLM, Bureau of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service. These agencies regularly restrict mineral development and future development on federal lands, the WLSO wrote in a Federal Land Ownership and Restrictions brief.
The Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC) said in an announcement on Thursday, Feb. 6, that the State Legislature refused to listen to the public by advancing the “anti-public lands resolution.”
“This 11th-hour political maneuver runs counter to the wishes of Wyomingites,” Alec Underwood, program director for the WOC said in the announcment. “It’s clear that many citizens spoke up on this issue, and while some legislators listened, others have not. It’s astonishing that some elected officials would choose to sell out one of our state’s greatest assets — our vast and unique public lands. Rest assured, the public will keep fighting to oppose this resolution, and we encourage anybody who values our public lands to contact their legislators now.”
Yin told Buckrail that the SJ2 resolution still has to be further reviewed in the Senate and House before it could be considered by the federal government.
Yin explained that the resolution requires three readings on three separate days, so “there are possibilities of amendments today and Monday.” Yin added that on Monday the Senate will take a final vote on the federal lands resolution, unless the vote gets moved back. After the Senate vote, SJ2 will be reviewed in the House.
“It will come to the House for us to consider in committee, then three times on the floor if it survives committee,” Yin said.
Two related bills, House Bill 118 and Senate File 105, are still being considered by the Wyoming Legislature. Both bills would prohibit the transfer or sale of public land to the federal government.
