Letter to the Editor: Selling off Wyoming public lands a terrible idea

Dear Editor,

Selling off 15 million acres of public land to pay the national debt is a terrible idea for Wyoming. Who can afford this land? Ultra wealthy and out of state land developers.

Public land is supposed to be sold for “affordable housing.” From experience I can tell you this sell-off is instead a trade for ordinary hunters and fisherwomen having access to big game and roadless areas exchanged for the wealthy and privileged. This is a bad trade turning public outdoor recreation in Wyoming into a rich man only club.

My grandparents had a log cabin north of Cora, Wyoming, on the Green River in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It was an incredible blessing. There was no electric, no neighbors, we hand pumped water, had an outhouse and used my Grandmother Hennicks’ cast iron cook stove to bake and cook.

We spent many summers there as my dad was a teacher and took excellent care of the land. Once in a while we rode snowmobiles in (no plowed roads back then) for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The federal government declared eminent domain and took it away.

Now there are multimillion dollar cabins right up to the lot line exchanging daily moose and elk for electric and internet. I can assure you, few are from Wyoming.

I appreciate Harriet Hageman saying that she, of course, doesn’t think the government should go out and sell 14 million acres to the highest bidder. Who will monitor this? Are we talking affordable housing as second homes for millionaires? No! Are we talking out-of-state developers getting richer quicker on Wyoming? No!

The greed and avarice of the powerful (Democrats and Republicans) is already out of hand. Please be mindful of what is best for Wyoming and its wildlife, not Vegas who needs housing.

Kris Green

Powell