Wyoming Gov. Mead seeks better cooperation with states from Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

Gov. Matt Mead hopes Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will further commit to cooperation with and deference to the states during her keynote address today at the Western Governors' Association Conference in Las Vegas. Mead has not always agreed with Jewell or her predecessor, Ken Salazar, but it helps to have a working relationship, given that the secretary oversees the Bureau of Land Management's national parks and fish and wildlife services, said the governor’s press secretary, Renny MacKay. Mead would like to see the department reconsider the BLM's hydraulic fracturing rule, which is redundant since Wyoming’s rule -- the first one adopted by a state -- applies to BLM land, MacKay said. Other governors attending the winter meeting are John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, C. L. "Butch" Otter of Idaho, Steve Bullock of Montana and Gary Herbert of Utah...more