In a tie vote, the Wyoming Senate defeated a resolution demanding Congress turn over all federal land in the state but Yellowstone, even after senators amended the measure to exclude Grand Teton National Park and national forests.
The 15-15 vote on Senate Joint Resolution 2, “Resolution demanding equal footing,” came with Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, absent and excused. To ensure permanent defeat, Sen. Cale Case, who voted against the demand for a land transfer, immediately moved for reconsideration.
Senators then voted 16-14 against reconsideration. Legislative rules allow only one reconsideration vote. The debate on the Senate floor on the final reading of the bill lasted 53 minutes before lawmakers killed it.
“We hold these lands dear. We hold these lands sacred.”
Mike Gierau
The action ended more than a week of debate over a theory proposed by Sen. Bob Ide, a Casper Republican and commercial real estate developer, that the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to turn over the public land, which belongs to all Americans. Senators had a duty to vote for the resolution, he has said.
“I think we need to defend our borders here,” Ide told the Senate on Monday. “Do your duty under the Constitution — the Wyoming Constitution and U.S. Constitution.”
Senators adopted two amendments before killing the resolution. One excluded Grand Teton National Park from the demand. Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, said that land is of paramount importance to his district.
“We hold these lands dear,” he told the Senate. “We hold these lands sacred.”
The second amendment excluded national forests, monuments, historic sites and “nationally designated area[s] open to the public” from the demand. Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, offered that change.
That, in effect, left acreage controlled by the Bureau of Land Management as the principal property in the demand resolution. Senators saw oil, gas and coal under those properties as major resources that would benefit Wyoming if the state could control them completely.
Case said the resolution was “probably the most important issue” to his constituents. Americans owning and using public lands is “one of the most fundamental pieces of our Constitution,” he said.
Conservationists with the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition hailed the measure’s defeat. “Today, the Wyoming Senate stood up for our Wyoming way of life and our public lands,” Joshua Coursey, president of the Muley Fanatic Foundation, said in a statement.
Luke Todd, owner of The Sports Lure in Buffalo agreed. “Our success is directly tied to our vast public lands and any proposals to jeopardize our customer’s access would have negative impacts to our industry.”
WyoFile reporter Andrew Graham contributed to this story.
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