Our public lands are more than scenic backdrops — they are the foundation of who we are as Wyomingites and Americans. From the high sage of the Red Desert to the granite peaks that frame the Tetons, these landscapes define our way of life. They provide our communities with clean water, outdoor recreation, wildlife habitat, local jobs and a sense of freedom that belongs to all of us. 

Opinion

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition applauds Sen. Eric Barlow and 38 of his colleagues across both chambers for sponsoring Senate Joint Resolution 9, “Keeping public lands protected and decisions local,” which calls on Congress to recognize the value of keeping our public lands public, listening to input from Wyomingites, and keeping our outdoor traditions intact.

Public lands make up the majority of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and much of Wyoming. They fuel our local economies — from guiding and outfitting to tourism and ranching — and they form the backdrop to everyday traditions. Our public lands are where families hike together, where kids learn to fish, where we hunt in the fall and find quiet moments next to a river at dawn. Our public lands generate billions for Western economies and are the source of clean drinking water for millions. They connect us to each other and to what it means to live in the West.

Yet these lands are under pressure from political whims. Across the West, proposals continue to emerge that would sell or transfer millions of acres of our public lands to private interests, and a public lands sell-off advocate is the current nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management. If a wholesale sell-off of our public lands becomes a reality, our legacy is lost forever, iconic wildlife habitat is gone, and community-supported livelihoods are jeopardized. The consequences are real: Once public lands are parceled off, they’ll never return to the public.

That’s why SJ 9 matters. This resolution clearly and directly urges our federal delegation to affirm Wyoming’s freedom of access to public lands while recognizing the need for responsible development, local input and multiple-use management including recreation, agriculture, energy and conservation.

While the threats we face vary from outdated policies that fail to protect critical habitat to pressures from expanding development, the solution remains the same — we need to keep and steward our public lands. Thank you, Sen. Barlow and members of the Wyoming Legislature for resoundingly standing up for our outdoor heritage.  

Together we can protect the Wyoming way of life by preserving our wide-open spaces, keep our elk herds strong, our rivers healthy and our trails accessible for this generation and the next. Wyoming’s public lands are part of our heritage, our economy, and they’re worth fighting for — not putting on the auction block.

Jared Baecker leads the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's conservation efforts throughout northwestern Wyoming. He builds partnerships with local and federal agencies, landowners and complimentary nonprofit...

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  1. If you want to keep OUR PUBLIC LAND, you’re going to have to learn how to vote in an intelligent way.That means no Hageman, no Dr. NO. No Lummus clones.

    Reply

  2. It is unfortunate that we tend to elect to federal and state positions to represent us people who seem to assign values only in dollars. As voters we are the only ones who are to blame for that!

    Reply