State’s complaint against BLM ranch purchase was a waste

What do state government officials do when a lost cause inevitably falls apart?

If you’re Gov. Mark Gordon, trying to halt the sale of a huge private ranch to the feds for conservation, the answer is easy. You simply say that was never the outcome you actually wanted, then claim a moral victory for what you say is your real purpose: defending the public’s right to have a voice in the matter.

Use the phrase “transparency in government” as much as you can, governor, and perhaps you’ll be hailed as a hero.

But the sale of the Marton Ranch was always going to be approved by the Bureau of Land Management because the state has no control over what the federal government does with federal land. You can only hope people won’t notice how many personnel and monetary resources you wasted during a year’s worth of political gamesmanship, only to achieve the same outcome you were always going to get.

Owners of the 35,670-acre ranch six miles south of Casper tried to sell it for many years before the Bureau of Land Management joined in a partnership with the Conservation Fund, an independent nonprofit. The organization then officially gave the property to the BLM to manage.

The sale price was $21 million, with the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund — financed by offshore oil and gas reserves — as the major revenue source. Approved by the BLM in June 2022, it’s the agency’s largest land acquisition in Wyoming history.

The conservation management deal will preserve nearly 9 miles of shoreline along the North Platte River near Alcova Reservoir to prevent subdivisions and other development. The transfer also unlocks access to an additional 40,000 acres of interspersed state land sections, forming a 118-square-mile block of contiguous public land.

The deal was made to preserve open space, agricultural grazing and wildlife. Stretching across Natrona and Converse counties, Marton Ranch is a wildlife haven that offers hunting, fishing, birdwatching, hiking and other recreational activities.

That’s such a popular move, how can Republicans view potentially stopping the sale as any kind of victory?

Soon after the BLM announced it had acquired the ranch, Gordon’s attorney general’s office filed a 30-page complaint to the Interior Bureau of Land Appeals that attempted to block the sale. The agency paused the process and opened a three-week period for the public to comment. The BLM received 350 additional statements, but to absolutely no one’s surprise, it still approved the sale. 

And Gordon seemed fine with that, accepting the news without complaint. The governor said he’s glad the extended comments were included in the final environmental assessment because they will set a good precedent for any similar future federal transactions.

Far-right Sen. Bob Ide (R-Casper) was not as keen on a compromise. He sent a May letter to the BLM’s Casper Field Office, erroneously claiming the U.S. Constitution and federal case law give the state Legislature ultimate authority to approve land transfers to the federal government.

Another supposed legislative power, Ide added, was granting “exclusive jurisdiction” to dictate management over lands acquired in Wyoming.

Aaron Weiss, deputy director of a nonpartisan conservation and advocacy group, the Center for Western Priorities, told WyoFile that Ide’s claims are “hogwash.” He could have used a more colorful Western description that involves a bull, but that one will do.

“The states cannot tell the federal government what to do with federal land,” Weiss said. “Nor do states have any standing to tell private landowners who they can or cannot sell their land to.”

Wyoming’s complaint was a blatant roadblock — and threat — to landowners who are merely exercising their right to sell their property without government interference. Wasn’t there a time when that right was a sacred principle of the Republican Party?

I’m still curious about why Wyoming so quickly filed a complaint about the BLM’s Marton Ranch acquisition and then went quietly into the night when the purchase was approved a second time.

When the agency announced the purchase more than a year ago, the BLM explained the acquired lands will initially be managed the same as adjoining BLM-managed lands, “with existing decisions that protect wildlife habitats and other resources while promoting recreation.”

At the time, BLM said it would undertake a planning effort to develop “management prescriptions specific to the area that takes into account the purposes of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, with input from tribes, partner agencies and the public.”

Was it really necessary for Wyoming to file a complaint against the BLM, demanding more public input that was going to be compiled anyway? The answer is no. The state knew the agency already had an obligation to pursue such testimony in the course of its management duty. In retrospect, the complaint appears to be grandstanding.

Here’s another issue that’s pertinent to the Marton conservation sale. Everyone knows President Joe Biden, like any Democratic leader, is widely seen as an enemy for nearly all federal actions taken within Wyoming, from the fictional “war on coal” to requiring more regulations to protect the state’s environment.

The Marton Ranch purchase was part of the Biden administration’s “America the Beautiful Initiative,” which aims to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and water by 2030.

Is that enough of a reason for Gordon to try to throw a wrench into the ranch deal? The vast majority of Wyomingites say they hate the demands the federal government makes on the state, and the president embodies those feelings. With few exceptions whenever it fits their agendas, GOP governors automatically criticize and try to overturn whatever a Democratic president does.

Was this costly, wasted exercise to oppose the BLM’s ranch acquisition simply the governor supplying the response he figured his constituents wanted to hear? 

I don’t approve of how Gordon slowed down the process to appease the far-right Biden bashers, but I think Wyoming should feel good about many more residents and visitors being able to access the wonderfully diverse wildlife and recreational opportunities on the former Marton Ranch. 

When given the opportunity to respond to a bold conservation move by the federal government, Wyoming needs to look at the practical benefits to the people who live here. In this case, the land purchase will mean more revenue for state and local governments thanks to increased tourism, which will more than offset the small loss in property taxes from when the ranch was in private hands. 

Gordon’s knee-jerk reaction to immediately complain about the process may please some ideologues who always look at the feds with suspicion, but the state’s goal should be to make the most judicious use of the land that benefits the public.