A Wyoming land expert with deep ranching roots has been tapped for a position with the Bureau of Land Management as the Trump administration weighs contentious proposals to sell public land.
Brenda Younkin, co-owner of Y2 Consultants in Jackson Hole, has been named a senior advisor to the Bureau of Land Management.
Her appointment comes at a time when the potential sale of public lands in Wyoming and other Western states has become a lightning rod across the state.
Having someone from Wyoming with Younkin’s expertise in federal land regulations is a boon to the state, Cindy Garretson-Weibel, the director of Wyoming L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Education and Development), told Cowboy State Daily Wednesday afternoon.
“Wyoming L.E.A.D. is an agricultural leadership program and Brenda went through that program probably 10 years ago,” Weibel said. “So I got to be with her over the course of 16 to 18 months and know her well.”
Younkin not only has deep ranching roots, having grown up on a farm in Nebraska, but she also has advanced degrees in range management science and federal lands policy.
Having someone like that from Wyoming in an important position with the BLM is wonderful, Weibel added.
“Brenda is from the West,” she said. “So it’s very exciting to have someone who knows the issues be in a decision-making role like that. I think it’s tremendous that Brenda was selected for that position.”
Younkin has done great things with Y2 Consultants, Weibel added. Y2 Consultants is a full-service engineering and natural resource management firm that Younkin founded with her husband, Zia Yasrobi, in 2010.
“She has taken it from a really small, mom-and-pop type of operation to a very significant contributor to land issues in the entire (Rocky Mountain) region,” Weibel said. “So I couldn’t be more excited for Brenda and the state of Wyoming. She is a tremendous asset and very well-qualified for this position. It will be great to have someone who knows the issues helping make decisions.”
Even Democrats Pleased
Weibel wasn’t the only one touting Younkin’s skill when it comes to land management issues in the West.
Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily he also is thrilled with Younkin’s appointment.
“She is what I would say is well-versed in land-use planning in Teton County as anybody I know,” Gierau said. “And I only know her in that space because I’ve talked to her about Teton County planning issues. I’m sure her knowledge of Wyoming is very broad as well.”
In fact, Younkin’s firm, Y2 Consultants, was tapped in 2015 to study the transfer of 25 million acres of federal land to Wyoming, a 345-page report that unpacked the costs of that idea.
That study found the state would inherit costly wildfire and litigation issues if it were to take over management of the lands in question.
The report also found that the transfer could be costly to local governments, which would lose significant sources of federal funding.
Gierau said he has a lot of questions about the current push to transfer or sell federal lands — excluding land in Montana, which has an exemption. It makes him “nervous,” but he’s glad someone in Wyoming will be close to the conversations that might soon be taking place about that.
“There are some that are probably very appropriate,” Gierau said. “And there are others that are probably not as appropriate, and I think Brenda Younkin will know the difference.”
Her direct knowledge of Wyoming and the West is an asset for everyone in the state, Gierau said, regardless of political aisle.
“We may not agree on every little thing,” Gierau said. “But I certainly know it’s better to have someone who at least has that Wyoming connection, that base knowledge of county land use planning, state land use planning.
“That baseline knowledge is always good, because, like I said, whether I like the answer or not, at least it’s better when it’s informed.”
Bob Budd, director of the Wildlife Natural Resource Trust and a past president of the International Society for Range Management, told Cowboy State Daily he sees Younkin as a great addition to the Bureau of Land Management.
“I’ve known Brenda probably since she was in graduate school,” Budd said. “She’s really bright, and she really knows her stuff. She’s had a very good career in range management, working with the agencies, but also with her own firm, and she’s very capable and understands the issues.”
Her Wyoming background gives her an edge, Budd added.
“Brenda has a job to do, and I think she’ll do it very well,” he said. “We’re glad to see her there.”
Congressional Delegation Likes Her
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, was also pleased with Younkin’s appointment.
“Always great to have more people who understand Wyoming and respect our Western way of life working in Washington D.C.,” she told Cowboy State Daily in an email.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, said it would be a refreshing change to have someone from Wyoming helping to make decisions that affect the state — unlike the previous administration.
“President Trump is working hard to fill agency vacancies and get the right people in place to deliver the results the American people expect,” he told Cowboy State Daily in an email. “The more Wyoming voices we can have in the room, the better off we will all be. This is especially true at agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) where Wyoming’s priorities and concerns were largely cast aside by the previous administration.”
More About Younkin
Younkin had not responded to a request for an interview with Cowboy State Daily at the time of this story’s posting.
Originally from Nebraska, she has a master’s degree in rangeland science, and is a certified range management consultant, according to online biographical material about her available at Y2 Consultants website.
In a 2019 interview with RancHER, Younkin said she started out in business administration, but quickly jumped ship when she realized that she didn’t much like accounting and that rangeland science would allow her to continue working with ranchers, which has been a lifelong passion.
That passion stems from her childhood, growing up on a ranch in Nebraska. Younkin, in the 2019 RancHER interview, noted that there were “only daughters” on the farm, so whenever her dad needed a hand, he was turning to her or a sister.
That has given her a can-do attitude toward life in general, and the sense that she should never expect to be treated differently just because she’s a woman.
Younkin added federal land regulations to her degree program during her master’s program and is also an expert in environmental law.
But it’s not all dry and dusty tomes of law for Younkin. She’s a roller derby fan and served as treasurer of the Jackson Hole Juggernauts, a roller derby league, for six years. She also volunteers with the Community Safety Network, as well as other community organizations.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
