Wyoming will get some high-ranking representation in President Donald Trump’s administration within the Environmental Protection Agency.
It was announced on Monday that former state legislator Cyrus Western of Big Horn will run the EPA’s Denver field office as the Region 8 administrator. Western will hold the second highest position of any Wyoming resident within the Trump administration, behind former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, who was tapped to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month.
Western said it’s an incredible honor to be picked for the position. He had his first day on the job on Monday.
“When the president asks you to work for him, you don’t say no,” Western told Cowboy State Daily.
Western, who grew up in Wyoming, served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2019-2024, rising to House Majority Whip in his final term.
The Region 8 administrator is in charge of implementing EPA policies and approving mining and industrial regulations on a regional level, a position joining nine other administrators across the country.
“They’re the person, the boots on the ground, approving grants, granting wastewater exemption permits, CO2 injection permits, that kind of stuff,” Western explained to Cowboy State Daily.
In his role, Western will oversee Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and 28 federally recognized Tribes and manage around 650 employees.
Region 8 oversees air and water quality issues, emissions from oil and gas operations and automobiles, and addresses groundwater contamination. He’ll also oversee managing superfund sites and the response for any massive spills and other industrial-caused catastrophes.
“As we work to power the great American comeback at EPA, we continue to assemble a fantastic team,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a statement. “I am grateful Cyrus Western is joining EPA as our Regional Administrator for Region 8. I know with Cyrus’ experience in the Wyoming State House of Representatives championing energy and wildlife conservation, he will work non-stop to implement President Trump’s policies across the Region.”
Western will not have to go through Senate confirmation for his role. There are around 3,500 similar positions across the federal government the Trump administration is in charge of filling.
Western said Trump’s transition team initially reached out to him about the opportunity, which he considered an honor in itself.
He told Cowboy State Daily that he received recommendations from U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis that helped him get the job.
In the EPA announcement, Barrasso said Western will be “an incredible partner for Wyoming and the West,” and Lummis said he “will restore the EPA's commitment to cooperative federalism.”
“Senator Lummis and Senator Barrasso were instrumental in pushing anyone from Wyoming in some of these federal positions we’ve been seeing,” Western said.
In addition to Nesvik and Western, Cheyenne attorney Karen Budd-Phalen has been named to a high ranking Department of Interior job.
“Getting Wyoming people in these key regulatory position, especially that impact Wyoming like this one … can only help Wyoming and making sure our voices are heard and that the best interests of Wyoming are being advocated for at every level of government,” Western said.
Importance Of The Role
Western’s appointment will be significant for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, which works with the EPA daily.
Todd Parfitt, director of the agency, told Cowboy State Daily that Western understands how to balance environmental protection with economic growth and will be extremely valuable for Wyoming.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Cyrus for several years during his time with the Wyoming state Legislature,” Parfitt said in the statement. “He understands the importance of common-sense approaches and cooperative federalism. I look forward to working with Cyrus as we implement effective environmental programs to address the priorities of the EPA, the state of Wyoming, and the Region.”
The position is also critically important to mining and industrial projects.
Western’s Views
Western has expressed a mixture of pro-energy and pro-recreation views in the past.
While in the Legislature, he served on the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, chaired the Oil and Gas Bonding Working Group and was vice chair of the Tourism, Recreation and Wildlife Committee.
During the 2024 legislative session, Western passed a bill into law adding more requirements and oversight on people who bid for oil and gas leasing on state lands in Wyoming.
Western said his time on the Minerals Committee specifically goes hand-in-hand with his new job.
“I think my time on the Minerals Committee has given me a time of experience and exposure to these types of issues that you deal with,” Western said.
Later that same year Western expressed concern that a Lander-based conservation advocacy organization was waging a war on Wyoming’s middle class through the state’s oil and gas lease auction bidding process by placing bids.
In 2024, he also successfully opposed a controversial state land swap in Sheridan County he worried would hinder hunting and recreation opportunities there.
Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said the regional administrator role is important for Wyoming from the simple standpoint of understanding the state’s needs and concerns.
“We want to solve problems rather than have an administration where there was an adversarial relationship,” Deti said. “It’s good for Wyoming and good for Wyoming industry.”
Neither Deti, Western or Wyoming Petroleum Association President Pete Obermueller could remember a time when a Wyoming resident served in the Region 8 administrator role before.
“There are two philosophies about the agency,” Obermueller said. “They have a responsibility to make sure environmental protections are made in partnership with the state and industry, with environmental protection in concert with industry needs; or they can be a top down enforcement agency.”
The Larger Picture
Western will replace KC Becker, an environmental attorney from Boulder, Colorado, who was appointed to the position during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Becker’s office rejected several state-issued air pollution permits for the Suncor refinery in Denver and launched an investigation into whether Colorado’s air pollution regulations discriminated against racial and ethnic minorities.
The Trump administration has moved swiftly to roll back environmental protections in preference for development, appoint fossil fuel industry leaders to top EPA positions and prioritize fossil fuel projects.
“President Trump has made it clear he wants a pro-energy, pro-middle class agenda, and to help implement his agenda is a huge honor,” Western said.
But Obermueller said the rash of cuts made to the EPA and other federal agencies under Trump won’t make Western’s job easier.
“Logistically, it’s going to be hard,” Obermueller said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
