Even if they can’t agree on much else, Wyomingites across the board value access to public land, the state’s four living former governors said.
They told Cowboy State Daily it comes as no surprise to them that strong opposition to proposed public land sales crossed political party and ideological lines.
Matt Mead, who served as governor from 2011-2019, offered a tongue-in-cheek remark regarding the broad-based pushback against the land sales.
“Here’s the good news: Finally, a lot of people agree on something. In politics today, that’s a rare bird,” Mead said.
Regardless of where they’re coming from, Wyomingites love having places to go. Places where they don’t have to ask a landowner’s permission, said Mike Sullivan, who served as governor from 1987 to 1995.
“When you start talking about selling lands that people value and are used to having available,” it won’t go over well, he said.
Former governors Jim Geringer (1995-2003) and Dave Freudenthal (2003-2011) echoed that sentiment, stating that accessible wildlands are a defining element of Wyoming’s culture.
U.S. Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, miscalculated the magnitude of pushback against his inclusion of proposed federal land sales in the Senate’s version of the One Big Beautiful Bill budget reconciliation act, the former governors said.
Faced with an avalanche of opposition, Lee apparently got the message. He announced late Monday that he would “significantly reduce” the amount of land that could go up for sale under his proposal.
Bill ‘Doesn’t Compute’
When it comes to politics and policy as it relates to public land, uncertainly never goes over well, Sullivan said.
And the proposed land sales were “put into a huge bill without much advanced notice,” he said.
He added that during his tenure as governor, there was a sentiment against adding any more federal lands to Wyoming.
But selling off existing public lands wasn’t seriously discussed, at least “not in the fashion we’re talking about here,” he said.
Geringer said that the goals of Lee’s land sale proposal aren’t clear or well-conceived.
The land sales would supposedly help offset the federal budget deficit through the money generated. And, proponents say, the land could be used for affordable housing developments.
Geringer said he’s skeptical that the land sales as written into the bill could accomplish those things.
Many of the lands controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are too arid to be suitable for housing, he said.
And U.S. Forest Service lands, while picturesque, might be suitable only for high-end homes.
“It doesn’t compute. You wouldn’t even satisfy 1% — to pick a number — of the people who are in need of housing,” he said.
And if one goal is to generate revenue to offset the deficit by selling “to the highest bidder” — it’s questionable how high the bids might go if the land isn’t all that desirable for developers, Sullivan added.
‘All They Offered Us Was Scrub Land’
Sales and trades of federal lands already take place by other means, Freudenthal said.
He understands that the current process can be frustrating.
During his tenure as governor, there were some proposed trades between state parcels and National Park Service lands.
In those exchanges, “all the offered us was scrub land,” making the trades seem unfair, Freudenthal said.
But, as others have said, the answer is to revise the current land trade and sale system, not replace it with what’s proposed in Lee’s U.S. Senate bill, he said.
“I agree that the current system is dysfunctional. But that proposal is really bad,” he said.
He added that he’s disappointed that Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation hasn’t opposed the public land sales bill, since so many Wyomingites don’t like it.
It could be because they’re afraid to derail the entirety of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which is favored by President Donald Trump, Freudenthal said.
Public Land Is Wyoming’s ‘Golden Goose’
Freudenthal said public opposition to Lee’s bill has been unified, because practically everybody in Wyoming uses public lands.
“We all use them. Whether you’re hunting, fishing, hiking or taking pictures,” he said.
Mead agreed.
“I think a common thread that runs though Wyoming people is a desire for and an appreciation of the land and the landscapes,” he said.
In addition to their social value, public lands also have monetary value, through the tourism industry, and by attracting people to come live or start businesses in Wyoming, Mead said.
As remote work becomes and option in more professions “quality of life” factors hugely into people’s decisions regarding where to live, he said.
“It’s certainly one of our golden geese to have these public lands for the enjoyment of all,” Mead said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
