Letter to the Editor: Wyoming public lands endangered by politics

Dear Editor:

In Wyoming, public lands are our way of life. Perhaps without your knowing it, your political representatives have let you down. Following are the facts:

The big picture:  

Wyoming has 30 million acres of federal lands, employing approximately 18,000 people. Wyoming federal lands consist of Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park (NPS) lands. Per congressional authority, these lands collectively belong to all United States citizens. 

Annual revenue associated with our federal lands (all data pre-DOGE): 

Revenue includes retail sales, salaries and wages, royalties and taxes. 

Tourism associated with our 10 national parks accounts for $1.13 billion. 

Hunting revenue yields $3.5 billion dollars. 

BLM lands generate over $2.4 billion in revenue. No revenue figures could be found for USFS lands.

A significant portion of the income generated from these sources helps fund our schools, roads, infrastructure and public services.

The politics:

• Per a 2024 poll, over 60% of Wyoming voters opposed the transfer of federal lands to the state; however, nearly 40% of Wyoming eligible voters did not cast ballots during the 2024 general election.

• Without federal dollars, Wyoming does not have the ability to fund the billions of dollars necessary to maintain and to control wildland fires on what are now its federal lands. Covering these costs could necessitate the sale of transferred federal lands.

• During the 2025 Wyoming legislative session, all but one of our Big Horn Basin senators and representatives SUPPORTED a failed attempt to transfer our federal lands to the state.

• The same representatives ALSO SUPPORTED placing roadblocks on the sale of private lands to the federal government which would have, if passed, scaled back wildlife habitat initiatives and opportunities to create additional hunting and recreational access to our public lands. Note: Currently over 3 million acres of Wyoming public lands are landlocked and thus are inaccessible to Wyoming citizens.

•  U.S. Sens. Barrasso and Lummis, along with U.S. Rep. Hageman, ALSO SUPPORTED the transfer of federal lands to the state as well as support the sales of our public lands for purposes of generating immediate income and to provide additional lands for private housing.

The federal lands issue is just one example of your politicians not acting on behalf of the majority of Wyoming citizens. Let your voice be heard at the polls during the next election cycle.

Dan Close

Greybull