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Public Lands
Wyoming has many points of pride, but perhaps none rival our public lands legacy. Among the approximately 48 percent of federally owned lands in our state, we boast the nation’s first national park, the first national forest, and the first national monument. Nine national forests and one national grassland lie within our State’s borders. As Wyoming citizens, we have a right to be proud of these treasures.
We also have a right to be proud of the way our state has helped manage and protect our public lands and resources for the enjoyment of future generations. Wyoming citizens have and will continue to weigh in on public lands issues such as snowmobile and off-road vehicle (ORV) use, the rights of grazing permittees, wolf management, interstate Water Compacts, and BLM wild horse and burro management decisions. Good stewardship of the land is a Wyoming value and as a rancher I hold that ideal in the highest regard.
It is equally my responsibility in Congress to protect the right of access to our public lands – for recreation, hunting and fishing, grazing, and in some areas, environmentally sound energy development. Many in Congress would prefer to lock up our public lands from the vast majority of these uses. Those individuals don’t understand the innate respect we Westerners have for our own lands and resources. Proper public land management requires balance. Wyoming understands this relationship between use and protection. I will work to ensure that same balance is reflected in the public lands policies we enact here in Washington.
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