Barrasso bill releases WY wild lands, threatens wildlife
Enjoying the open skies and stretching vista of the Honeycomb WSA in Wyoming.
Bob Wick
"Deeply flawed" legislation threatens 17 wild areas in Wyoming and should be rejected.
LANDER, WY — Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a legislative markup that included S. 1348, the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2023, which passed out of committee on a voice vote along with other bills. Sponsored by Senator John Barrasso, the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2023 was developed from recommendations made by seven county commissions and is out of alignment with agency recommendations for wilderness designations. Less than 10% of the Wilderness Study Areas considered are recommended for wilderness in this unbalanced bill. The WPLI recommendations have been opposed by local communities for over 5 years.
The county commissions and Senator Barrasso have not consulted with Tribal Nations, including the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, who have deep ties to these lands. With the exception of Carbon County, the recommendations lack consensus of all the affected interests, including hunters, conservationists, and recreationists. Because the Public Lands Initiative rejected Tribal Nation involvement, excluded key stakeholders, did not achieve consensus, and ignored public input, S. 1348 must be rejected. The bill strips current protections from wild, intact, predominantly natural lands—crucial for wildlife facing impacts from development and a changing climate—and it lacks broad-based support in Wyoming.
The Wilderness Society's Wyoming Senior Manager, Julia Stuble, issued the following statement:
“We are disappointed Senator Barrasso continues to push the deeply flawed Wyoming Public Lands Initiative Act of 2023—and that he continues to spread misinformation about the bill. These wilderness study areas are open to recreation and currently enjoyed by countless rock climbers, hunters, anglers, hikers, families out camping, and wildlife lovers. The Tribal Nations and communities that rely and recreate on these irreplaceable wild lands deserve a fair and balanced hearing, not the one-sided and short-sighted recommendations made in the current bill.”
For more information, contact Kate Mackay, 602-571-2603 or newsmedia@tws.org
