Public Land Issues in Wyoming

Sen. Mike Lee’s is at it again and this time he’s targeting national park sites, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune

The  Utah Republican introduced an amendment to delete language that  national park units are federal lands staffed and maintained by federal  employees.

Lee has obviously overlooked the tremendous popularity (Read that as  “tourist dollars”) of Utah’s Zion, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon,  Canyonlands and Arches national parks. Imagine what you and your family  would pay to visit these sites if they were in private hands!

Lee has also conveniently ignored the years-long promotion and millions of  dollars spent by his state for its national parks. In Wyoming’s case,  “(I)n 2024, 4.7 million people spent an estimated $710 million in local  gateway regions while visiting Yellowstone National Park,” according to a  story in the Flathead Beacon.

But who profits from his years-long assault on our national heritage? That is a question that has only been explored on a superficial basis?

We all remember Lee’s thrust in his jihad to sell off public lands as part of the “One Big  Beautiful (Ugly) Bill” earlier in 2025.

Lee,  with Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman as accomplices, floated the laughably  implausible “reason” of building affordable housing for selling your  lands.

Public outcry from all parts of the political spectrum, including Lee’s own voter base, snuffed that idea, the Tribune story continued. Lee, of course, blamed his failure on a Senate rules procedural issue.

Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity was more blunt. “By taking dead aim at our national parks, Sen. Lee is declaring war on the most beloved public lands in America.

“Lee somehow didn't learn from his last failed attempt to auction off our  public lands to private interests, but he's going to lose twice as hard  this time. America’s national parks are not for sale, and Americans will  again stand up and loudly defend our nation’s beautiful crown jewels  from this despicable attempt to privatize and destroy them,” Spivak  added.

“Everyone  who loves our national parks needs to call their senators right now and  demand they stand up for our nation's cherished public lands,” said  Spivak.

Michael Jamison, a National Parks Conservation Association campaign director, said of Lee,  “He’s like a car thief who’s going around testing all the doors to see  which ones are unlocked and eventually he’s going to steal our outdoor  heritage. “He’s jiggling the door handles and we’ve got to make sure the  locks are secure and intact.”

“The  American public is not clamoring to get rid of national parks,” said  Kristen Brengel with the National Parks Conservation Association. “It’s  very difficult to know who he’s speaking for in all of this.”

“It’s kind of not surprising from Mike Lee,”  said Devin O’Dea with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, of the senator’s  latest amendment. “It’s on brand, and something we will continue to  oppose.”

Hunting is not allowed in most park units, O’Dea noted,  but it is allowed in certain preserves managed by the National Park  Service.

Lee’s continued assault, like his earlier efforts is not resonating with other federal representatives in the Mountain West.

New  Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, the top-ranking Democrat on the Energy and  Natural Resources Committee, in a statement to E&E News, “We are  staring down another 11th-hour effort that threatens our public lands.  We can and must defeat this.”

The Flathead Beacon story added  Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), said through a spokesman, “(He) has been  unwavering and consistent in his stalwart defense of public lands: he  believes public lands belong in public hands, opposes the sale of public  lands, and will always fight to protect our right to hunt, fish, and  recreate on our public lands.”

The Tribune story adds Lee’s amendment follows reports that Trump’s Interior department was exploring downsizing national monuments in the West.

The  president’s budget proposal also called for slashing the National Park  Service’s operations budget by nearly $1 billion a month later, noting  several of its units are small and have low visitation consisting mostly  of locals.

The Trump administration’s proposal could have wiped  out at least 350 park units across the United States, according to the  National Parks Conservation Association’s estimates.

SCOTUS Slaps Down Elk Mountain Ranch Owner & Carpetbagger
The  lands where you ATV, snowmobile, hunt, fish and hike with your family,  over 2.4 millions acres in Wyoming, continue to be yours to enjoy and  pass on to the next generation.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced  Oct. 20 that it will not hear the case of Fred Eshelman, Elk Mountain  ranch owner in Carbon County. The North Carolina carpetbagger has  unsuccessfully claimed for four years the right to prohibit corner  crossing access, losing every one of his multiple court decisions and  appeals.

“It preserves a very important public access to public  lands ruling from the 10th Circuit that ensures in checkerboarded lands,  the public can reach the public lands,” said Casper, Wyo., attorney  Ryan Semerad, as quoted by Wyoming Public Media. Semerad has represented  the appellees on the case.

The case centered on access to public lands in the “checkerboard,” the alternating sections of public and private land.

Four hunters from Missouri stepped across section corners in 2021, crossing over Eshelman’s land.

Eshelman  sued the hunters, arguing that they trespassed and asserting the  bizarre claim of controlling the airspace above his land. (Who does he  think he is, the Federal Aviation Administration?)

As  it most often does in deciding whether to take an appeal, the high  court did not provide any explanation on why it declined the case.

The  court’s decision leaves in place the March 2025 10th Circuit Court of  Appeals’ unanimous ruling upholding the legality of corner crossing.”

Wyoming  Public Media continued, “Semerad said the court’s denial to review the  previous ruling is a bit ‘bittersweet. Our ruling is safe and preserved,  but we did miss out on the opportunity to expand the reach of our  victory.’”

Because the Supreme Court did not take the appeal, the  10th Circuit Court ruling will not apply nationwide. The ruling only  applies to Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas,  along with the parts of Yellowstone National Park that stretch into  Idaho and Montana.

The law is murkier in other states across the country.

“The  Supreme Court’s action affirms a principle hunters and anglers have  long understood: corner crossing is not a crime,” said Devin O’Dea,  Western Policy & Conservation Manager for Backcountry Hunters and  Anglers (BHA). The organization has been a primary fundraiser for the  legal challenges.

“Access to 3.5 million acres of public lands  has been secured because four hunters from Missouri took a leap of faith  across a corner, and the Wyoming Chapter of BHA stood up in their  defense. It’s a victory worth celebrating and a key domino in the fight  for public land access across the West,” O’Dea said.
 

“Today’s  win is historic, but it cannot be mistaken for a finish line,” said Jack  Polentes, BHA Policy & Government Relations Senior Manager,  “Powerful interests will continue to test the boundaries of public  access in statehouses and courtrooms across the country.” 

Want to know more? Check out these resources:

Click here for the Sierra Club.

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.