Bill would study transfer of federal lands to Wyoming

A Wyoming legislative committee is pushing a bill in the upcoming session to put up $100,000 to study the idea of seeking the transfer of federal lands to the state. The effort is part of a wider push in which several Western states have demanded the federal government transfer lands to them. Proponents say states could manage lands better. Opponents, including some national environmental groups, say the effort could be the first step toward privatization. Utah passed a law a few years ago demanding that the federal government hand over 31 million acres, about half the land in the state, by Dec. 31, 2014. The federal government ignored the deadline. Montana, Nevada and Idaho all have expressed interest in getting federal lands. Rep. Tim Stubson, R-Casper, is co-chairman of the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee that drafted the bill. He said people in Wyoming are closer to the land and able to manage it better. Wyoming needs to be able to show that it can manage the land and that it would be in the state’s financial interest to take it over, Stubson said Monday. “And without some of those basic answers, we’d look pretty foolish going to Congress or anywhere else and demanding a transfer of any of the state lands,” he said. The bill would exempt lands managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That would leave lands administered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, excluding wilderness areas, for study for transfer. The bill specifies that the state would pledge to continue to allow access to the lands for hunting, fishing and recreation, “subject to closure for special circumstances including public safety and environmental sensitivity.” Wyoming Attorney General Peter Michael leads a task force with the Conference of Western Attorneys General looking at legal issues concerning the transfer issue. He said the conference intends to come out with a paper giving solid legal analysis without taking sides. “Ultimately, we hope there will be something where we say, ‘OK, these are the arguments that can be made, pro and con on various issues, and kind of develop a white paper that people can rely on,‘ Michael said...more