As property tax cuts move forward in Wyoming, schools, hospitals, public safety agencies and road departments have all warned of potential funding shortfalls. Now, a new white paper from the Wyoming Weed & Pest Council says Weed & Pest Districts could also be significantly affected — a concern that many residents may not even realize is tied to property tax revenue.

Wyoming’s Weed & Pest Districts didn’t appear out of thin air. They were created decades ago to deal with a very real problem: invasive plants that were chewing up rangeland, hurting agricultural production and spreading faster than individual landowners could manage on their own.

Weeds like cheatgrass and leafy spurge don’t stop at fence lines, and over time they’ve been tied to everything from reduced grazing capacity to higher wildfire risk and the loss of native wildlife habitat.

That reality is what led lawmakers to create locally governed districts with countywide authority — a way to coordinate control efforts across both public and private land. But those districts now find themselves caught in a familiar Wyoming dilemma: how to pay for public services while cutting property taxes. Property taxes are among the most politically sensitive issues in the state, and lawmakers are under intense pressure to deliver relief to homeowners. At the same time, nearly every entity that relies on those dollars is warning that cuts come with consequences.

The Weed & Pest Council’s white paper lands squarely in that debate, at a moment when many residents are increasingly skeptical of property tax–funded programs and are asking a simple question — are they getting what they pay for?

That skepticism shows up in several ways. Critics of the Weed & Pest District funding model say the white paper spends more time warning about funding losses than clearly demonstrating results. While few dispute that invasive species are a problem, some landowners argue that weed control efforts vary widely from county to county and that it’s difficult to gauge success without consistent performance measures or statewide reporting standards.

Others question whether residential property taxes are the right tool to fund Weed & Pest Districts at all. For homeowners in towns or subdivisions, the work of weed and pest crews can feel far removed from daily life, even though those residents help foot the bill. That disconnect has fueled broader questions about whether funding should be tied more directly to land use or agricultural benefit rather than spread across all residential taxpayers.

There’s also concern that the white paper paints proposed tax cuts as universally “devastating” without seriously engaging with alternatives.

Some lawmakers and taxpayer advocates argue that Weed & Pest Districts should at least explore other options — whether that’s greater cost-sharing with state or federal partners, user-based fees, or more targeted assessments — before framing tax relief as an existential threat.

Ultimately, critics warn that leaning too heavily on worst-case scenarios could backfire. As Wyoming reexamines how it funds government, public entities are being asked to do more than explain why their mission matters. They’re also being asked to show how they can adapt, improve transparency and deliver services as efficiently and fairly as possible.

Weed & Pest Districts, like schools, hospitals and other tax-supported services, may have to make that case more clearly than ever before. The video below is the story of Wyoming’s Weed and Pest Districts.

Agitators in Portland, Oregon, clashed with police late Thursday near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, hours after a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot two people.

Video showed officers in riot gear pushing forward as agitators crowded the street, leading to shoving and jostling during the nighttime confrontation.

The Portland Police Bureau said six people were arrested, with those detained facing charges including riot, disorderly conduct in the second degree and interfering with a peace officer. All were booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center.

VANCE DEMAND DEMOCRATS ANSWER WHETHER ICE OFFICER IN MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING WAS ‘WRONG IN DEFENDING HIS LIFE’

Some demonstrators could be heard chanting, “Shame on you, shame on you,” as police led people away. Police said they deployed crowd-control units, dialogue officers and a police sound truck to manage the demonstration.

Authorities said officers repeatedly ordered demonstrators to move to the sidewalk so that traffic could remain open. When those directives were ignored, officers moved in and made targeted arrests.

Police said the total number of arrests tied to anti-ICE and immigration enforcement demonstration activity has reached 79.

The incident erupted after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot two people during a traffic stop earlier in the day.

NOEM ALLEGES WOMAN KILLED IN ICE SHOOTING ‘STALKING AND IMPEDING’ AGENTS ALL DAY

According to DHS, the driver — who is believed to be a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) — allegedly, “weaponized the vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents” after agents identified themselves as law enforcement, prompting an agent to fire a defensive shot. The driver fled the scene with a passenger, officials said.

Following the incident, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson called on ICE to “halt all operations” in the city until a full and independent investigation can take place.

“We know what the federal government says happened here,” Wilson said during a news conference Thursday. “There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time has long passed.”

Wilson added that ICE agents and DHS leadership “must fully be investigated and held responsible for the violence inflicted on the American people in Minnesota, in Portland, and in all the communities across America.”

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Thursday’s shooting in Portland followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good during an ICE enforcement operation in South Minneapolis Wednesday.