Visitors to Grand Teton National Park. (Grand Teton National Park)

In a tie vote, the Wyoming Senate defeated a resolution demanding Congress turn over all federal land in the state but Yellowstone, even after senators amended the measure to exclude Grand Teton National Park and national forests.

The 15-15 vote on Senate Joint Resolution 2, “Resolution demanding equal footing,” came with Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, absent and excused. To ensure permanent defeat, Sen. Cale Case, who voted against the demand for a land transfer, immediately moved for reconsideration.

Senators then voted 16-14 against reconsideration. Legislative rules allow only one reconsideration vote. The debate on the Senate floor on the final reading of the bill lasted 53 minutes before lawmakers killed it.

“We hold these lands dear. We hold these lands sacred.”

Mike Gierau

The action ended more than a week of debate over a theory proposed by Sen. Bob Ide, a Casper Republican and commercial real estate developer, that the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to turn over the public land, which belongs to all Americans. Senators had a duty to vote for the resolution, he has said.

“I think we need to defend our borders here,” Ide told the Senate on Monday. “Do your duty under the Constitution — the Wyoming Constitution and U.S. Constitution.”

Senators adopted two amendments before killing the resolution. One excluded Grand Teton National Park from the demand. Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, said that land is of paramount importance to his district.

“We hold these lands dear,” he told the Senate. “We hold these lands sacred.”

The second amendment excluded national forests, monuments, historic sites and “nationally designated area[s] open to the public” from the demand. Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, offered that change.

That, in effect, left acreage controlled by the Bureau of Land Management as the principal property in the demand resolution. Senators saw oil, gas and coal under those properties as major resources that would benefit Wyoming if the state could control them completely.

Case said the resolution was “probably the most important issue” to his constituents. Americans owning and using public lands is “one of the most fundamental pieces of our Constitution,” he said.

Conservationists with the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition hailed the measure’s defeat. “Today, the Wyoming Senate stood up for our Wyoming way of life and our public lands,” Joshua Coursey, president of the Muley Fanatic Foundation, said in a statement.

Luke Todd, owner of The Sports Lure in Buffalo agreed. “Our success is directly tied to our vast public lands and any proposals to jeopardize our customer’s access would have negative impacts to our industry.”

WyoFile reporter Andrew Graham contributed to this story.

Angus M. Thuermer Jr. is the natural resources reporter for WyoFile. He is a veteran Wyoming reporter and editor with more than 35 years experience in Wyoming. Contact him at angus@wyofile.com or (307)...

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  1. Wyoming voters should pay attention to who the sporting goods stores are supporting. All three of our ‘reps’ would like to take our federal lands, and a sporting goods store should NOT be supporting them.

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  2. Mr. Ginter’s slap at the federal government is off-base. This was the right move to retain these lands for those of us who love to recreate on them … and spend a lot of money to do so.

    I don’t believe Sen. Ide’s long-term plan is to keep these lands public. It’s a land grab, one we’ve seen before, and the state Senate was right to put it down … again.

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  3. Too bad.
    Wyoming Republicans also under the same delusion as Democrats that “the Federal Govt. is OK” when their party is at the helm in DC.

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  5. You are taking away the ONE RESOURCE that is left for the American citizens to enjoy, and your taking away the land that our animal’s are so important to the ecologic of (our land). The greed of the government with trump & musk wanting to pollute, cause earthquake’s, and use large amounts of water source’s in the reservoir’s. Fracking, mining, and drilling should be out lawed, by the state and the federal government. You have NO RIGHT to ruin our land, for mineral farming, OR for for high stack real estate development. YOUR GREED for continual stakes will eventually become YOUR HELL. Once you kill the fish in our lakes and oceans, you pollute the land with farming, and can’t breathe the air, the only thing left will be your greed, you can’t eat, breathe, or sleep on your money. Or take it with you, when you have to leave to another country, because you raped our earth. By that time we could possibly be at war with the countries, that your bullying. You mr.trump and your lacky mr.milkman musk, are the ruination of our beautiful country, and the constitution that our veterans fought and died for our freedom. You shallow android’s.

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