Commissioners oppose Biden's land conservation plan

Concerned that President Joe Biden’s new land conservation initiative could cause “dramatic and irreversible harm” in this area, the county commissioners are preparing a resolution to oppose it. A public meeting has been scheduled to allow members of the community a chance to offer input.

The topic was raised by Commissioner Jeanne Whalen at last week’s regular meeting and the resolution drafted at her request. People are already aware of the executive order, she said, and the hearing will provide opportunity to express whether they support the county in doing something about it.

President Biden signed an executive order titled “Tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad” on January 27. One section directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a plan to conserve at least 30% of the lands and waterways in the United States by 2030.

It’s reported that only around 12% of the land is currently under environmental protection and 26% of ocean territories. On Thursday, the Biden administration released a report detailing how it aims to achieve this goal, in a decade-long initiative dubbed the “America the Beautiful” campaign.

However, the draft resolution from the county commissioners that would oppose this effort points out that the federal government owns 15.09% of the 1.8 million acres of land within this county and the well-being of the county depends on access to these lands and their resources.

The resolution lists industries that rely on those federal lands, including forest products, livestock grazing, oil and gas exploration, recreation, mining and mineral development and hunting.

“These industries are important components of Wyoming’s economy, and are major contributors to the economic and social wellbeing of Crook County and its citizens,” states the draft resolution.

The resolution claims that the “30 x 30” program will cause significant harm to the local economy, deprive citizens of access to public lands and prevent productive use of the land’s resources. Withdrawing federal lands from multiple use and placing them in a permanent state of conservation, it continues, will cause “dramatic and irreversible harm to the economies of many western states, including Wyoming, and in particular rural counties such as Crook County, whose citizens depend on access to federal lands for their livelihoods.”

Meanwhile, 13,089 acres of privately owned lands are already protected with perpetual conservation easements and there are two designated roadless areas in the Sand Creek and Inyan Kara areas.

However, states the resolution, “Designating lands as wilderness does not assure its preservation. Left in an undisturbed or natural state, these lands are highly susceptible to wildland wildfires, insect infestation and disease, all of which degrades the natural and human environment.”

Thursday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior described the “America the Beautiful” campaign as an effort, “to support locally led and voluntary conservation and restoration efforts across public, private, and Tribal lands and waters in order to create jobs and strengthen the economy’s foundation; tackle the climate and nature crises; and address inequitable access to the outdoors.”

It includes eight principles to guide the effort, such as to pursue collaborative approaches, support voluntary conservation efforts and honor Tribal sovereignty and private property rights. An interagency working group is set to be established to help measure and track progress towards the overall goal.

The six priority areas identified include the creation of more parks and safe outdoor opportunities in nature-deprived communities; increased access to outdoor recreation; incentivizing voluntary conservation efforts; expanding collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitats and corridors; supporting Tribally-led conservation and restoration priorities; and creating jobs by investing in restoration and resilience projects.

The county resolution opposes the program and its objective, and also opposes the designation of public lands and forests in Crook County as wilderness, wilderness study areas, wildlife preserves, open space or other conservation land, thereby restricting public access and preventing development.

The commissioners instead support the continued management of these lands under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, and the maintenance and enhancement of public access. The board recognizes the State of Wyoming’s water rights system, including the doctrine of prior appropriation, and supports “reasonable” goals for greenhouse gas emissions that are “comprehensive, practical, cost-effective and do not unnecessarily single out specific industries or activities.”

“The board opposes the use of global climate change as an excuse to set aside large tracts of land as preserves or open space to fulfill the 30 x 30 program’s objectives unless a similar amount of land and water is set aside by other developed countries,” states the draft resolution.

Governor Mark Gordon also issued a statement on the report, stating that it has been met with both skepticism and applause and both seem warranted. The report does seem to have captured the input given by a team assigned by the governor to convey Wyoming’s suggestions, he said.

“As always, proof lies in action, not words. I am cautiously optimistic that the administration will leave 30x30 in the hands of locally based, cooperative, and truly voluntary efforts. If this initiative is not implemented in a way that focuses on the local level, it is surely doomed,” Gordon stated.

For example, an early focus of the report is to create more parks, Gordon explained, and Wyoming already has massive amounts of land in this system.

“As one of the western states with large amounts of federal land, we cannot be the conservation colony of the nation. Wyoming is not the nation’s national park where nothing can happen to create jobs, sustain our communities, bolster our industries and find our own prosperity,” Gordon stated.

“That being said, the report does emphasize and outline a goal that would maintain geographically diverse conservation – a concept that should alleviate many of these concerns, and a commitment I expect to see honored.”

Gordon praised, however, the recognition of existing programs that Wyoming landowners have with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and stated that he is pleased to see strong recognition of private property rights and the commitment to stewardship that private landowners have shown.

A public hearing to discuss the county commissioners’ resolution to oppose the 30 x 30 plan has been set for June 2 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ room at the county courthouse.