Letter to the Editor: The importance of public lands in Wyoming and America

Dear Editor,

I read more and more every day, with concern, about the sale and potential privatization of public lands in America. More and more legislation by states and federal legislators has been proposed to sell or redistribute our public lands.

The ruse is that selling or giving back public lands to states, corporations and privatization of public lands would better serve America and pay off our debt. Another argument is that the regulation of agencies is overbearing and prohibits extraction of minerals, timber and other resources and their use.

The public lands in Wyoming and America were established by Congress and are managed for sustained use, not a onetime economic, or exploitation shot in the arm. It is a difficult job to balance the use and yet provide for resource extraction or preservation in the case of national parks that get millions of visitors.

Wyoming is comprised of 48% federally managed public lands; 5.6% of the land was set aside for management by the state of Wyoming during statehood for the state’s exclusive use, when public lands were established by Congress. In Wyoming the very first national forest, the Shoshone, and the first national park, Yellowstone, were established as public land. Yes, we got the winners, the crown jewels of the nation and, arguably, the world.

To assist states in providing funding to prosper, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) legislation was established by Congress for public lands. Funds are collected by the federal government for leases and production of timber, mineral, oil, grazing and other land uses and are shared with the states. In 2024, $621,235,188 in PILT monies was given back to the state of Wyoming.

Public lands also give a healthy boost to Wyoming’s prosperity. Recreation alone in 2023 brought in $2.3 billion to the state. That’s billion, with a B. Wyoming national forests, parks and monuments visitation records continue to be broken every year. Worldwide visitors are not coming to see oil rigs or coal mines, though I hope they appreciate those resources, which are mostly managed on public lands, providing jobs and good incomes. 

Also in 2023, Wyoming received over $20 million in grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which Governor Gordon has made the first discernment to further recreation and boost our economy.  Another $80 million flowed into Wyoming coffers over the last three years generated by lodging tax dollars mostly generated by tourist travel. 

 On the home front, how lucky are we to be able to enjoy the 63 million acres of public lands in our back yard. Public lands provide us with jobs, help support ranchers with grazing leases and generate state revenue, while gifting us a place to go relax and enjoy recreation and solitude. And you can even enjoy your public lands in other states. 

Sure, there are the rules: Put out the campfire, take home your trash, don’t ride the bison or feed the grizzly bear, and, no, you can’t drive to the top of every peak in Wyoming. But heaven forbid it’s sold to the highest bidder! I don’t know if I’d trust Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or foreign billionaires to keep the gates open for us to hunt, fish and play on their ranches. Once we kill the cash cow and sell the ranch (our public lands), we won’t get it back.

I wholly believe the one thing that our government got right was creating public lands. Don’t let them sell or privatize them. They belong to everyone: You, me, every American, not just a privileged few.

Boone Vuletich

Cody