Wyoming’s congressional delegation should follow neighbors’ lead on public lands

When it comes to fighting to protect America’s public lands, conservative champions are emerging in the congressional delegations from our neighbors in Idaho and Montana. 

The need for conservative champions from the Cowboy State is greater than ever.

In the first five months of 2025, the ill-considered debate over the transfer or sell-off of America’s public lands intensified, with many lawmakers in Wyoming either supporting or remaining silent on those efforts while their Republican counterparts in Montana and Idaho took bold stances for our land.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, along with Gov. Mark Gordon and 26 state legislators, supported Utah’s legal bid to transfer millions of acres of federal land to state control. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. While the conflict still remains, defenders of public lands are increasingly stepping forward.

During our most recent Wyoming legislative session, the Senate narrowly defeated a resolution demanding the transfer of federal lands — except Yellowstone National Park — to the state. (Senators later amended the legislation to also exclude Grand Teton and Wyoming’s national forests, but that didn’t stop the measure’s defeat.)

And in Congress, the recently formed bipartisan Public Lands Caucus — launched by Republican Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing from Montana,  and Mike Simpson from Idaho — quickly demonstrated its influence by successfully advocating last week for the removal of a controversial public land sell-off amendment from the House’s reconciliation bill. 

The amendment, introduced by Republican Reps. Mark Amodei, from Nevada, and Celeste Maloy, from Utah,  and supported by Wyoming’s Rep. Harriet Hageman, authorized the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah. 

“This was my San Juan Hill; I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands. Once the land is sold, we will never get it back. God isn’t creating more land,” Zinke said after the decision. 

This fight is not over, however, as the bill must now make its way through the Senate, where a simple majority could revisit the sell-off of our public lands. 

Such a move would have a hard time garnering the support of Montana’s Republican Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy. Earlier this year, they broke ranks with their party by voting for an amendment to prevent the privatization of federal public lands. This amendment sought to block the inclusion of land sales in the federal budget. It failed on a 48-51 vote, but support from Daines and Sheehy underscored Montana’s commitment to public lands. Wyoming’s senators, on the other hand, voted against the amendment. 

We need to remind Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis that protecting America’s public lands also protects Wyoming’s outdoor heritage, and it’s an idea favored by nearly 6-in-10 voters across the Cowboy State, according to a recent Colorado College poll. Simply put, protecting our public lands protects the Wyoming way of life.

Zinke, the former Interior Secretary under President Donald Trump, has also co-sponsored the “Public Lands in Public Hands Act.” This bipartisan legislation aims to prevent the Interior Department from selling or transferring public lands without congressional approval and deserves the support of our representatives. 

Zinke, Downing, Simpson and many other Western lawmakers understand what our Wyoming delegation seems to be ignoring: There is overwhelming opposition to selling off America’s public lands. 

They’d be wise to follow Zinke’s lead, and keep his view in mind: “Public land is not a Republican or Democrat issue; it’s an American issue, and we should approach it within the framework of being red, white, and blue.”