The Wyoming Outdoor Council’s power comes from informed and engaged citizens. This is especially true during the state legislative session—when key policy decisions about our public lands, wildlife, and environmental quality are made.
As part of our effort to increase civic engagement in Wyoming, we are excited to launch our Citizen Lobbyist Internship Program for the upcoming 2018 legislative budget session in Cheyenne. We believe a deeper familiarization with our state’s “citizen legislature” will empower members to be better advocates—and to engage others in their own communities.
From February 12 to March 2, we’ll offer three individual, weeklong mini-internships (during the first three weeks of the session). Due to the nature of the legislative agenda, these internships will be fast-paced and hands-on! Participants will leave with a comprehensive understanding of the Wyoming Legislature and how to be an effective citizen lobbyist.
We’ve developed a dynamic, in-depth curriculum that includes:
The basics: how a bill becomes law, orientation to the Capitol
Hands-on training in lobbying and communicating with legislators
Researching actual legislation filed—including possible meetings with government agency staff and creating fact sheets
Attending committee hearings and monitoring floor debates
Participating in strategy meetings with other lobbyists and interest groups
Opportunities to testify before committees and/or lobby legislators directly about upcoming bills
Outdoor Council lobbyists will provide the majority of this training, often through on-the-go learning related to WOC’s own work. Each internship will vary based on the pace and schedule of the 2018 Budget Session.
Interns will need to arrive in Cheyenne by Sunday night and can expect to finish by Friday afternoon. If necessary, stipends or support to cover lodging will be available.
Please click the link below if you are interested and I’ll send a more detailed description!
Ask any Wyoming Outdoor Council staffer and they’ll tell you: Protecting what’s best about Wyoming is a team effort.
From removing illegal fencing that harms wildlife, to securing laws that better protect drinking water and air quality, to convincing decision-makers that some landscapes are simply too special to develop, each of the hard-won successes the Outdoor Council has enjoyed since 1967 has come only because members, citizens, and partners came together to stand up for the places and values they love.
Longtime staffer Steff Kessler recalls two such successes—and the hard work of everyone involved.
1992: “We didn’t want our state to turn into a dumping ground.”
In the early 1990s, developers were eyeing Wyoming as the next best place to build in-ground facilities to house low-level radioactive waste.
“[The Wyoming Outdoor Council] learned about this proposal at the last minute, during the first day of a 20-day budget legislative session,” Steff recalled. “We only had four weeks to understand this waste stream, its severity, and what it would include.”
As Outdoor Council staffers scrambled to learn more about the proposal, it became clear that to protect the state and the health of its people, we and everyone involved needed to better understand the regulatory process itself. Given the potential risks, though, along with the state’s lack of experience regulating radioactive waste, staff decided to act quickly to prevent the proposal from being fast-tracked through the Legislature without proper permitting or environmental preparation, study, or review. The best course of action: establish a moratorium.
In order to do that, however, the Outdoor Council needed to generate a groundswell of public support.
But how?
The first step, back in the days before the internet, was to activate the membership “phone tree.” The phone tree—which included hundreds of citizens—spurred momentum, as members began calling more and more people across the state to spread the word. But what really got things rolling was a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of the Casper Star-Tribune.
“The ad was basically a call to arms, asking people to call or fax their state senators, and call or fax the governor’s office, and oppose the bill,” Steff said.
The day after the ad ran, the bill came up for a vote in the Wyoming State Senate. Steff recalls that as she waited in the gallery with a few other folks to hear news of the bill’s fate, she and her companions were summoned unexpectedly to the office of then-Governor Mike Sullivan.
There, they were told that the volume of faxes and phone calls coming in to oppose the bill had “broken” both the fax machine and the direct line to Governor Sullivan’s office.
“It was a great example of working with our members and allies, and reaching out to the public to give them the info to chime in,” Steff said. “The general public did not want our state turned into a dumping ground. We knew Wyoming people did not want this here.”
As a result of the tireless efforts of the Outdoor Council, its members, conservation allies, and citizens, the moratorium on low-level radioactive waste storage was added to the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act in 1992. To this day, it requires any applicants for commercial radioactive waste management facility permits to pay a nonrefundable $100,000 fee and to submit a notice of intent to file at least 10 months prior to submission—effectively keeping such projects from being fast-tracked.
2016: “Your favorite place to hike or fish could someday belong to a person who fences it off, and you’d never get to go there again.”
Fast-forward two decades to 2013, when the Wyoming State Legislature began to rumble with plans for legislation to allow the transfer of ownership of federal lands in Wyoming to the state.
The main concern with transferring federal ownership to the state is the risk that these public lands could be privatized—essentially auctioned off to the highest bidder.
“That basically means that your favorite place to hike or fish could belong to a person who fences it off, and you’d never get to go there again,” Steff explained.
Not a great outcome for a state like Wyoming, where nearly half of our land is public, and where tourism and outdoor recreation comprise the second-largest and fastest-growing economic sector.
For three years straight, lawmakers tried to push some variety of land-grab bill through the Wyoming State Legislature. The Outdoor Council found itself constantly beating back those efforts. Then, in 2016, groups from throughout Wyoming and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes began to take a concerted, organized stand against these efforts.
“We felt that this was an attack on public lands, public access, and all kinds of conservation values like water quality and wildlife habitat,” Steff said. “We also knew that, throughout the West, there is a growing movement to take public lands away from the public and develop them more for special interests.”
In November of 2016, 400 people showed up to a public lands rally in Casper as part of Keep it Public, Wyoming—a diverse statewide coalition of nonprofit organizations, businesses, and groups who collectively support the idea of keeping federal public lands in Wyoming in public hands.
Public lands rally in Casper (Nov. 2016)
Public lands rally in Casper (Nov. 2016)
The timing couldn’t have been better: the following week, a legislative committee was slated to consider another land-grab bill—this one, an attempt to amend Wyoming’s constitution to pave the way for state takeover of federal public lands.
Energized by the Casper rally, 100 Wyomingites showed up to the meeting in Riverton to oppose this draft constitutional amendment. When legislators turned a deaf ear to the citizens and instead opted to discuss the amendment at a later date, Keep it Public, Wyoming leaders encouraged its members and supporters to testify at the capitol. But again, when they showed up in Cheyenne, 150 strong, lawmakers told them the committee would not hear public comment on the amendment itself.
The result? Well, you can see for yourself:
By the time the 2017 legislative session began, the public had expressed so much opposition for the bill that the senate president killed it himself.
“This is a great example of the Wyoming Outdoor Council understanding the politics of the state, and of our ability to be nimble,” Steff said. “We really wanted to bring people together with common values, based on our love for public lands and the access and quality of life they provide for Wyoming citizens. As a result of that, we have a huge, diverse group. That group really sent a message to the Legislature, loud and clear.”
The Keep It Public, Wyoming coalition is going strong and has become a powerful voice for keeping public lands in public hands. This fall, they’ve held three successful rallies across the state—in Laramie, Jackson, and Sheridan—to keep citizens engaged and informed about public lands and the threats they face in Wyoming.
If you are not a part of the Wyoming Outdoor Council but you love Wyoming’s public lands, value its clean air and clean water, and choose to live here because of the quality of life these things afford, we’d love for you to join us. Our success and the protection of Wyoming’s future comes from the strength in our numbers.
Click here to join, or continue your involvement with, the Wyoming Outdoor Council. With your support, there’s no limit to the ways we can work together and protect this wild, one-of-a-kind place we all love.
The Wyoming State Legislature is continuing their important interim committee meetings on wildlife, recreation, public lands, and energy topics throughout the state, with their first stop in Fremont County on Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 29–30. This is a great opportunity to directly engage with lawmakers as they develop draft legislation.
Over the course of two days in Lander, the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Affairs committee will cover the cover the following topics:
prohibiting the sale of GIS wildlife locational data for hunting
special antelope hunts (such as Lander’s One Shot and a similar woman’s hunt)
confidentiality of sensitive wildlife information and data
other wildlife topics
a report from the Bicycle and Pedestrian System Task Force
Wyoming State Parks
a report from the Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Task Force
The hunting and wildlife topics are scheduled for Tuesday morning, and the others are scheduled for Wednesday morning.
There is opportunity for public comment at the end of each topic, or, you can just come and observe. We urge you to attend, chime in when you want, and support the recommendations of the Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Task Force. (Gary Wilmot, our executive director, has been co-chair of that group.)
This is your government and we encourage you to be involved! You can find agendas for the meetings as well as background materials and draft bills below.
Outdoor Council staff will be in attendance to testify on several of these topics, and we are hosting an informal information session prior to this meeting (details below). Feel free to stop by and join us for a cup of coffee, hear more about the meeting, and ask questions—we’re happy to fill you in!
The original bill wasn’t so bad. It attempted to set up a licensing structure with tight controls for commercial sage-grouse farms. When it first went through the House, the bill was strengthened to assure that the Game and Fish Department could control the scope of these operations, and especially how and where sage-grouse eggs would be collected from the wild for the start of brood stock.
The bill originally set an annual limit of 250 sage-grouse eggs that could be collected by licensees. Game and Fish officials testified that this was the biologically defensible limit that past analysis had shown was acceptable, without compromising the fate of this precarious species.
The Senate committee, however, stepped over the line and upped that amount to 1,000 sage-grouse eggs that may be collected annually by any licensee.
In the Senate committee it appeared that some Senators wanted to help an interested company get up to full-scale operation sooner. This company wants to try to farm-raise and release sage-grouse. Commercial business should not be prioritized over wildlife science.
Even the sponsors of the bill and the prospective company admit that no one knows if this is a viable commercial operation. There has never been any successful large-scale captive breeding and release of sage-grouse back into the wild. Also, simply raising more birds and releasing them will not address the real conservation needs for this species. The sage-grouse has a habitat problem, first and foremost.
The fate of Wyoming’s sage-grouse shouldn’t be jeopardized by an uncertain and, frankly, risky business. Thanks for your help as always.
The Wyoming State Legislature is at the half-way mark for the 40-day session. Last week, many bills died due to failure to pass out of committee or to pass a first vote on the floor by Friday’s deadline.
HB 257 – community and school access to public lands is a bill we supported that would require the state to evaluate land exchanges for the potential impacts to public access to surrounding lands. This bill failed in committee, but not due to a lack of support for the concept. Committee members felt the bill language needed further work and recommended the topic be considered for study during the legislative interim. We especially thank Representative Henderson for sponsoring this bill!
Our Focus Going Forward
HB 288 – Game and Fish fees is moving forward and we hope to stave off any further funding cuts to this agency. We will continue to closely monitor SF 6 – radioactive waste storage facilities and make sure this law remains strong. We’ll also watch a number of other Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) bills regarding leaking underground storage tanks, landfill remediation and uranium mining to assure these programs continue to protect our resources. We’ll also evaluate the proposed budget cuts to the DEQ to assess impacts to operations, including inspections and compliance.
In the coming weeks we’ll be keeping our eyes on a number of wildlife-related bills that we support or have helped to improve, including projects for the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, confidentiality of wildlife data, and sage grouse.
Overall, we’ve had a fairly successful session to date. We’ve had many constructive conversations with legislators and are building important connections. Our early outreach efforts and the engagement of citizens like you—especially regarding public lands transfer bills—have paid off immensely! Thank you for your efforts these last four weeks!
It has been a rollercoaster week in Cheyenne! First of all, thank you for contacting your legislators about SF71 – electricity production standards. This unworkable bill—an attack on renewable energy—died in committee on Tuesday; no one testified in support of it except the sponsors, and committee members noted the hundreds of emails they had received about it.
In other good news, we worked with other stakeholders and the Game and Fish Department to rework SF 25, a bill to ensure the limited confidentiality of wildlife data. We now support this bill and it has moved successfully through the Senate. Last week we also helped to stop HB 115, a dangerous bill that would have chilled enforcement actions by state agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality.
This week is the final week for bills to advance or die for this session, and we have a slew of new bills we’re tracking. Bills we support include the following:
HB 264 – instream flow rights acquisition would provide greater flexibility for landowners to keep waters in our streams for fisheries through a temporary change of use.
HB 288 – Game and fish fees raises license fees to allow the Department to fully fund their operations to offset expected general fund budget cuts.
We oppose the following bills:
HB 261 – diversion dam operation and turbidity allows for blanket approval for release of waters from diversion dams, which could harm downstream users and fisheries through overload of sediments.
HB 272 – mountain biking decals would require a $15 fee for mountain bikes used on public lands. We are urging lawmakers to table the bill for now and evaluate user fees comprehensively during the interim. We anticipate that the Governor’s outdoor recreation task force will consider an approach to user fees that evaluates access, expanded opportunities, and maintenance.
We’re also monitoring several other bills on wildlife, state lands, and wind energy. Some of these bills may die because of deadlines (bills must pass out of committee by Thursday) and others will continue forward. We’ll keep you updated on those that move on during the session.
Unfortunately, another federal land transfer billhas been filed. It has not been introduced nor assigned to a committee. HB 293 – public lands management extension amends an archaic law to require the state to develop a plan “for the transfer and management” of federal public lands to state control. It is a back door approach to setting the stage for wholesale transfer, with no limits to sale of public lands. We strongly oppose this bill, but we do not think it can move forward this session. We will certainly send out a quick alert if there’s any indication it will move!
Thank you—our success is built upon your interest and civic engagement! Be in touch if you’d like more details about any of the bills mentioned above.
I have great news! Last Friday afternoon, the President of the Senate formally killed SJ 3, the public lands transfer constitutional amendment that would have helped pave the way for the state to take over national forests and other public lands in Wyoming. This bill was so overwhelmingly opposed by the Wyoming public that it was never introduced or assigned to a committee. Legislators received many emails and calls and had a lot of in-person conversations with citizens who asked them to oppose the measure.
Thank you for your inspiring action to protect our beloved public lands! A great diversity of Wyoming people stepped forward, spoke up, stuck to your convictions and showed us the power of the grassroots! This success would not have been possible without you.
Week two news and looking ahead
Last week was productive for us in other ways, as well. We helped convene a working group to revise problems with SF 25 – wildlife location and research information. We are working toward a solution that protects the integrity of our Wyoming public records act while allowing the Game and Fish Department to keep confidential a very narrow set of data in order to protect wildlife, fair chase, and public safety. This new version should be heard in committee later this week.
We have worked with partners and gathered input from legislators to suggest an idea for a proactive bill regarding public access on public lands and hope to see this formally introduced soon. We’ve also monitored the budget work of the Joint Appropriations Committee regarding agency funding and will have more to report on expected changes with Game and Fish.
A bill we are concerned about, HB 115 – attorney fees, will be discussed in committee today. We believe this bill could chill enforcement actions by our regulatory agencies such as the Department of Equality and thus limit court actions against polluters. We’ll keep you apprised.
A bill that has garnered a lot of concern and attention, SF 71 – electricity production standards, has been assigned to committee but is not expected to have a hearing this week. This bill would mandate only a limited list of acceptable energy sources in Wyoming and excludes wind and solar energy. Count on seeing a future alert from us if this bill moves forward.
Thank you again for your interest and civic engagement—it makes all the difference!
The 2017 Wyoming State Legislature convened last Tuesday and I’m writing to update you on the first week’s activities and bills that may be of interest. Since this is a general session that lasts approximately 40 work days, we have more time for legislation to develop and move.
Please check out our website’s legislation tracking page to look at the list of many bills we are monitoring, supporting, and opposing. As new bills are filed, this list will grow.
Our highest priority this session is defeating SJ3, the public lands constitutional amendment that would lay the groundwork for transferring federal public lands to the state. So far, this bill has not been introduced or assigned to a committee, but it could be fast-tracked at any time. We will alert you if it starts to move! Thank you for your citizen advocacy efforts thus far. If you haven’t sent an email to your state senator yet, you can do so here.
There are a variety of conservation-related bills we are tracking on wildlife, renewable energy, water, and environmental quality. We are encouraged to see two in-stream flow bills, SF 58 and 80, sponsored by Lander’s Senator Case, that improve the mechanics of that law. A net-metering bill, SF 68, that we supported, has already failed in committee, but we hope that committee discussion lays the groundwork for future reform of this restrictive state law. Senator Burns of Sheridan did an excellent job challenging the obsolete nature of our laws that arbitrarily restrict the growth of solar and other renewable distributed energy. Related to that topic, we are opposing the controversial SF 71 that does the same for large power sources in Wyoming.
Another bill we are monitoring with concern is SF 6, which updates the state’s old radioactive waste facility laws. Currently, the language in the bill keeps this law strong and protects Wyoming from becoming a de facto nuclear waste repository. We will quickly shift to opposing this bill if weakening amendments are brought in.
The session is very fluid right now and we expect to see many other new bills. Please feel free to contact me if you want to know more about any of the bills we are tracking, and thank you for your engagement! It makes all the difference.
For those of you in the Cheyenne area, please join us Wednesday night for “Beers and Bills” at Danielsmark Brewery—find more information and RSVP here!
Chris Merrill, associate director, Wyoming Outdoor Council, 307.349.7288, chris@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
Wyoming Outdoor Council Launches New Website in Its 50th Year
Website makes it easy for citizens to track legislation and contact legislators
Lander, Wyo. — Wyoming’s cornerstone conservation organization, the Wyoming Outdoor Council, has launched a new website to kick off its 50th year and in advance of the state legislative session. The all-new site features easy-to-use tools to help citizens track legislation, contact legislators, and engage in the legislative process, among other things.
Founded in 1967, the Wyoming Outdoor Council is a nonprofit public interest group whose mission is to protect Wyoming’s environment and quality of life for future generations. The organization has operated continuously for 50 years. In recent years, the Outdoor Council has placed a renewed emphasis on fostering citizen engagement with the Legislature and with other government agencies.
“The values of conservation, environmental stewardship, and responsible access to public lands have always been nonpartisan issues in Wyoming, values that nearly all Wyoming people share,” said Chris Merrill, the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s associate director. “In recent years, however, we’ve watched as some legislators have gotten more and more out of step with the mainstream general public on these issues, especially when it comes to public lands and air and water quality. The key to fixing this will be citizen engagement—people showing up and speaking up every way they can, whether it be in person or via email or phone calls. Our new website will help people engage in whatever way works best for them.”
The 2017 Wyoming State Legislative session officially convened on January 10. The Wyoming Outdoor Council urges all Wyoming citizens to engage in the legislative process, regardless of political party affiliation or philosophy.
“We encourage people of all political stripes to use our website and take advantage of the easy-to-use tools to communicate with their legislators,” Merrill said. “With the click of a button you can email legislators and track legislation. The broader the cross-section of people participating, the better off we’ll all be.”
The new Wyoming Outdoor Council website can be found at wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org.
(2) Click here to give to the Wyoming Outdoor Council. President-elect Donald Trump promised during his presidential campaign to dismantle critical environmental protections. If he follows through on even some of his campaign promises, we’ll be facing an uphill battle for the next few years.
There’s a lot we just don’t know yet, but that’s nothing new. We’ve seen many legislators and presidential administrations come and go in the past 50 years—and even in the most precarious times we’ve won for Wyoming. We’re conservation’s home team in Wyoming and that’s an advantage that could make all the difference in the coming years. Regardless of how the winds are blowing in Washington or Cheyenne, the Wyoming Outdoor Council will remain steadfast, energetic, and up to any challenge.
