Dear editor:
I write in reply to Trevor Neilson’s letter to Cowboy State Daily of June 19, 2025, which was critical of Rep. Harriet Hageman for supporting a proposal to sell no more than 0.75 percent of the 640 million acres of land currently owned by the federal government to build housing in western states.
Not only was Neilson’s letter full of falsehoods, it was a perfect example of the elitist lecturing Wyoming residents are used to getting from radical, out-of-state environmentalists.
First, most of us believe the federal government already owns too much of our land — 48 percent of Wyoming — and the idea that it would be forced to relinquish some is music to our ears, not cause for alarm as Neilson thinks.
Second, the doomsday scenario Neilson paints is the same fiction environmental activists always try. No one is selling the Bighorns, or “pristine wildlife corridors, sacred tribal areas, hunting grounds, and access routes for working families and outdoor recreationists,” as Neilson claims.
Those are all lies.
The proposal is for small tracts of land, adjacent to already-developed areas, and the government must consult with western state governors, local officials, and native tribes before doing anything. Local governments would have the right of refusal, and no single person or entity can buy more than two parcels of land in any sale.
And finally, those of us who are actually from Wyoming are tired of out-of-state liberals who move in and start telling everyone what “we” believe.
Wyoming was previously just a fly-fishing destination for Neilson, he admitted, when he was on break from his career as an environmental activist and entrepreneur in California, New York, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.
He says he now lives in Jackson, so we should extend our welcome. But it’s notable that he donated to a variety of liberal politicians—John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden—from previous home addresses in California, New York, and Washington state, according to OpenSecrets.org.
I mean, President Trump got about 70 percent of the vote in Wyoming three times, and a Hillary Clinton donor wants to talk about whose side Harriet Hageman is on?
Please.
According to glowing media profiles, Neilson has advised celebrities and the mega-rich, including Bill and Melinda Gates, Brad Pitt, and Demi Moore, on how to direct charitable contributions to the appropriate environmental causes.
So, when Neilson talks about what “we” believe, he probably isn’t talking about you or me.
More proof of his dishonesty is what’s NOT in his letter — because he omitted his own professional background as an environmental activist and tried to pass himself off as a longtime Jackson local. This deceitfulness undermines any legitimacy he hoped his arguments would carry.
Mr. Neilson can go on back to California, or Washington, or wherever, and keep spreading his leftist nonsense out there. But he shouldn’t come into Wyoming and presume to speak for us after being a resident for about ten minutes.
He’s welcome to the fly fishing, though.
Marti Halverson
Etna, WY
