Wyoming Residents Voice Opposition to Public Lands Amendment
A legislative subcommittee got an earful from Wyomingites opposed to a constitutional amendment dealing with public lands during a meeting at the Jonah Business Center on Wednesday afternoon.
More than 100 people packed a meeting room and spilled out into the hallway – many wearing red “Keep it Public, Wyoming!” stickers.
The amendment, which was approved by the Legislature’s Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee in Riverton in November, would dictate how the state would handle a potential transfer of federal public land – however likely or unlikely that proposition would be.
At the November meeting, the vast majority of people who spoke were against such an amendment, but the committee passed it anyway, with Rep. JoAnn Dayton, D-Rock Springs, casting the only no vote.
If the amendment is passed by the Legislature and approved by voters, any federal land given to the state beginning in 2019 would have to be managed “for multiple use and sustained yield” and would allow for the exchange of state lands as long as there is not a net loss in value.
On Wednesday, the subcommittee’s job was to review and modify the language of the amendment, and changes will need to be approved by the full committee via an e-mail vote.
Although the meeting was about the language of the amendment and not whether the amendment would proceed to the full Legislature, that didn’t stop dozens of people from telling the committee they were against it.
In fact, not one person who spoke Wednesday was in favor of the measure.
“I agree with so many people that this is just a terrible proposal,” said Dewey Gallegos, who co-owns the Pedal House, a bike shop in Laramie.
Groups representing a variety of interests, from conservation groups to sportsmen to the National Outdoor Leadership School, all were opposed to the amendment.
Individual citizens also spoke against the measure.
Read the full story here.
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