Public Land Issues in Wyoming

An unfortunate death! Provenza's corner-crossing bill dies in committee.

In the wake of the ongoing Elk Mountain legal confrontation, this bill addressed corner crossing, a legal issue involving landowners and access to public lands. The bill would have created an exception  to criminal trespass laws that would allow individuals to momentarily  pass through or touch the airspace or land of an adjacent private  property parcel while moving between two parcels of land they are  legally authorized to access. 

This provision is particularly relevant for  scenarios like accessing public lands surrounded by private  property, where the only way to legally reach the public land is by  briefly crossing a private property corner. 

Supreme Court rejects Utah’s push to wrest control of public land from the federal government

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court turned back a push by Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government, marking a small victory for land conservation advocates.

The high court refused to let the Republican-controlled state file a lawsuit seeking to bring the land and its resources under state control. The decision came in a brief order in which the court did not explain its reasoning, as is typical. It marks the latest roadblock for states in a running feud with the U.S. government over who should control huge swaths of the West and the enormous oil and gas, timber, and other resources they contain.

Utah’s top state leaders said they have not ruled out taking their lawsuit to a lower court. Utah argues that local control would be more responsive and allow the state access to revenue from taxes and development projects. Federal agencies control almost 70% of the land.

The complaint sought control of about half of federal land, which still amounts to an area nearly as large as South Carolina. The parcels are used for things like energy production, grazing, mining and recreation. Utah’s world-famous national parks and national monuments would have stayed in federal hands.

The Denver Post

The annual Conservation in the West Poll in February 2024, found that nearly 75% of voters — including Republicans — want to protect clean water, air quality and wildlife habitats, while providing opportunities to visit and recreate on public lands.

That’s compared to just one-quarter of voters who prefer maximizing the use of public lands available for drilling and mining. According to the poll, which surveyed voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — 80 % of Westerners support the national goal of conserving 30% of land and waters in America by the year 2030.

Wyoming public lands advocates should prepare for disaster (wyofile.com)

Hackneyed phrases that were part of the public lexicon in the West for years, like the so-called “war on coal” and promise to “drill, baby, drill!” are back with a vengeance. So are federal land swaps, gutting environmental regulations, and other proposals that will make Wyoming officials and the minerals industry salivate, and conservationists cringe.

It’s just preparation for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the 2.0 version that wants to strip all of President Joe Biden’s federal public lands protections to spur huge corporate profits at the expense of public access.

It’s a trade-off many Wyoming politicians are willing to make to keep mineral tax revenues flowing to state government, while communities hope to preserve jobs and improve the local economy. 

Make you mad? Get involved as a party member .

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Want to know more? Check out these resources:

Click here  for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.

Click here for Advocates for Multi-use of Public Lands

Click here for Utah State Attorney General

Click here for the Albany County Democrats platform, p. 8

Click here for the Wyoming State Republican Platform, 19. Water and Land Rights.

Click here for the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

Click here for the Trust for Public Lands - Wyoming.

Click here for the Nature Conservancy - Wyoming.

Click here for the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Click here for the Wyoming Wildlife Advocates.

Click here for the Defenders of Wildlife.

Click here for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.