Hundreds Rally for Public Lands in Wyoming

The sun was bright and warmed the crowd of more than three hundred Wyomingites beneath the green tent in Fort Caspar Museum’s backyard on Saturday.

With Wyoming brews in hand, a cool November breeze, many gathered for one purpose: Protecting Wyoming Public Lands.

“Wyoming is what and still is what America was, ” stated Wyoming’s Chris Madson, writer and previous editor of Wyoming Wildlife Magazine. “Public domain is why I came to Wyoming in 1961 and why I stay! It is my refuge, my comfort and, by God, I will not give it up!”

Madson got the rally started, firing up the public. Reliving the storied history of the West from the conservational efforts of Teddy Roosevelt to the fur trappers and traders who paved the way to the West.

“I was not born in Wyoming, but I got here as soon as I could,” said Madson. “Access to public lands in our birth right and protection of these lands is desperately important.”

Joined by National Outdoor Leadership School’s John Gans, the two discussed the economical value of Wyoming Public Lands.

“Tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming,” Madison said. “It is renewable, sustainable and we are crazy not to embrace and recognize this!”

Gans, Executive Director at NOLS, shared some economical stats about Wyoming’s tourism:

Tourism in Wyoming adds $4.5 billion to our economy and leads to 50,000 jobs in Wyoming.

Public lands in Wyoming account for 646 billion dollars to the economy.

Gans shared a story of when he brought his family from Utah to Wyoming, his daughter questioned him about the mountains in Wyoming.

“Daddy, are those our mountains?” she asked.

“Yes, honey, those are all of our mountains,” he responded.

Read the full story here.