Dear editor:
I grew up in Rock Springs in a family where hunting and the outdoors were simply part of life. My parents were both teachers, but when school let out, we were outside.
Skiing, hiking, and hunting together. Some of my strongest memories are of my dad coming home from an elk or antelope hunt and our family processing the animal together. It filled the freezer, but more importantly, it taught us responsibility, gratitude, and respect for the land.
When I was fourteen, I went on my first elk hunt in the Green River Lakes.
That experience demanded more from me than any sport or activity I had done before. Packing meat, staying focused when I was tired, and finishing what we started, changed me forever. It also showed me how important public land is to Wyoming hunters. That hunt happened because the land was open and accessible to the people who care for it.
Today, I live in Cheyenne, raise my family here, and spend as much time as I can hunting, fishing, and helping others get outdoors. I appreciate Senator Barlow for introducing a resolution (SJ0009) that reflects how Wyoming has long approached public lands, with a commitment to multiple use, local participation, and practical, locally informed land management decisions.
Public lands are the foundation of Wyoming’s sporting heritage.
They provide access for hunters and anglers across the state and support wildlife populations that depend on large, connected landscapes. Wyoming’s Constitution recognizes hunting, fishing, and trapping as a heritage worth preserving, and that heritage depends on access to public land managed for multiple use.
Public lands also sustain Wyoming’s economy and way of life.
Ranchers depend on them for grazing. Energy and mining workers depend on them for their livelihoods. Outfitters, guides, and local businesses depend on them for tourism and recreation. Sportsmen contribute to conservation funding through licenses and excise taxes, and those dollars support wildlife management that reflects Wyoming’s long tradition of stewardship on working landscapes.
This resolution reflects how Wyoming goes about its public lands business. It supports responsible development alongside conservation. It values agriculture, recreation, and wildlife management as complementary uses of the same landscape. It recognizes that decisions work best when they include county land use plans, local governments, and the people who know the land firsthand.
Wyoming has a strong history of collaboration around public lands. When challenges arise, people come together to improve access, protect habitat, and support community needs. Existing laws already provide tools for land exchanges and adjustments when they improve public benefit.
This resolution supports using those tools efficiently and transparently, with meaningful local input. It reflects Wyoming’s belief that lasting solutions come from collaboration, transparency, and respect for local and county voices.
As someone who mentors hunters, including women and veterans, I see how public lands create opportunity.
They offer a place to learn skills, build confidence, and develop respect for wildlife and the outdoors. Public lands welcome people who may not have grown up with access or mentorship, and they give them a chance to belong to something larger than themselves. That opportunity exists because public lands remain accessible and decisions about them are made with Wyoming communities at the table.
Wyoming’s strength has always come from shared stewardship. We value independence, and we also understand responsibility.
This resolution carries those values forward by reaffirming Wyoming’s long standing approach to keeping public lands accessible, productive, and locally guided for the long term.
I urge legislators in both chambers to support SJ0009. It honors Wyoming’s sporting traditions, supports working landscapes, and keeps public lands available to the people who rely on them today and the generations riding in behind us.
Sincerely,
By Codee Dalton, Wyoming Wildlife Federation Conservation Ambassador
