Hackneyed phrases that were part of the public lexicon in the West for years, like the so-called “war on coal” and promise to “drill, baby, drill!” are back with a vengeance. So are federal land swaps, gutting environmental regulations, and other proposals that will make Wyoming officials and the minerals industry salivate, and conservationists cringe.
No, we’re not trapped in a time warp. It’s just preparation for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the 2.0 version that wants to strip all of President Joe Biden’s federal public lands protections to spur huge corporate profits at the expense of public access.
It’s a trade-off many Wyoming politicians are willing to make to keep mineral tax revenues flowing to state government, while communities hope to preserve jobs and improve the local economy. I understand the motivation to protect what’s “ours,” but federal lands belong to all Americans, and aren’t meant to only benefit the states where they are located.
The new Trump administration will likely resemble his first. He promised to save the coal industry, but only oversaw its rapid decline because it failed to compete with cheaper wind and solar energy and natural gas. There was never a federal war on coal, just a natural free market response to a dying industry.
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In this year’s presidential election, there was a clear public policy choice to address climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions through increased renewable energy use. Trump continues to call climate change a hoax and never listens to scientists who say it’s the biggest existential threat to the planet.
I won’t pretend Biden’s energy policies were perfect, or that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris would make them so. Her flip-flop on fracking dismayed supporters and wasn’t believed by critics, and was a detriment to her failed campaign.
But Harris promised that as president she would “unite Americans to tackle the climate crisis as she advances environmental justice, protects public lands and public health, and increases resilience to climate disasters.”
Trump, in sharp contrast, pledged to “unleash” domestic fossil fuel production, slash royalties that corporations pay to drill on federal lands, expedite oil and gas permitting, and withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
To understand the dark days ahead, read the section on public lands proposed by Project 2025, the blueprint for Trump’s second term published by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation.
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Trump back-pedaled as fast as he could when people condemned the agenda written by key members of his first administration. He put so much distance between himself and the 900-page document, that it was largely forgotten in the final days of the campaign.
After Trump’s victory, advisers like recently released felon Steve Bannon bragged that Project 2025 is precisely what his old boss has in store for the nation. It spells out a forthcoming disaster for our public lands, giving extractive industries nearly unfettered access to them while gutting the Department of the Interior and severely restricting the power of the Endangered Species Act.
Republicans have long sought to turn ownership of federal lands over to the states, under the specious claim state governments have more expertise to manage them. In reality, states like Wyoming have nowhere near the financial resources to take on such responsibility and would sell the lands to private developers as fast as they could.
It speaks volumes that the Project 2025 chapter on the Interior Department was written by William Perry Pendley, Trump’s former acting director of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley’s entire career has been focused on defending land grabs like the infamous Sagebrush Rebellion in the 1980s, which sought — but fortunately failed — to either outright transfer federal lands to states or privatize them.
Unbelievably, Pendley simply turned writing the section on energy production on federal lands over to Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas trade association, and two industry allies. It’s a perfect example of what to expect from Trump’s administration on this and other vital public matters: let industry write the rules.
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Pendley’s enemies list includes environmentalists, whom he has compared to communists and Nazis, and the Interior Department itself. He claims the latter has grown beholden to radical environmentalists and now abuses U.S. laws “to advance a radical climate agenda.”
Expect a deluge of conservation lawsuits that will hopefully tie up many of Trump’s most egregious proposals in court for years, so they can be overturned by judges or voters in 2028.
Speaking of litigation, there’s no doubt Wyoming officials view Trump’s win as a huge plus in their efforts to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court — with its conservative supermajority, thanks to the president-elect — to rule in favor of Utah in its federal public lands lawsuit. Utah claims the federal BLM shouldn’t be able to own land in the state without giving it a designation, like national park or national monument status.
Utah’s lawsuit has separate friend-of-the-court briefs filed by U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming), Gov. Mark Gordon, and 26 members of the Freedom Caucus, which will take control of the Wyoming House next year. If Utah wins its suit, it could pave the way for 17 million acres of federal land in Wyoming to be transferred to the state.
During her career as a lawyer, Hageman carved out a reputation as a fierce opponent of federal environmental laws. Her participation in the suit, which is a disservice to her constituents, at least makes political sense. So does the support of the anti-federal government zealots in the Freedom Caucus.
But what is Gordon’s excuse for joining this sinking ship? In a 2022 interview with the Keep It Public Wyoming Coalition, the governor said large-scale federal land transfers were “a fool’s mission … before we ever gave up those lands [to the federal government], our act of admission required that of us.”
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Gordon added he supports public lands and access to sportspeople, so he would oppose such federal transfers. So what’s changed, governor? It’s certainly not Rocky Mountain residents’ broad and bipartisan support for protecting federal public lands, which has been consistent for many years.
Hageman has joined other Republicans in a scheme to get control of federal lands: use it to build affordable housing. In a Washington Examiner op-ed in June, Pendley agreed with the proposal and wrote that Westerners’ future is now “impeded unnecessarily by vast swaths of federal land largely unused, unnecessary, and exorbitantly expensive to maintain.”
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance concurred during his debate with Democratic opponent Tim Walz. He said Trump believes we have a lot of federal lands that aren’t being used for anything, and “they could be places where we build a lot of housing.”
Naturally, Vance and Trump don’t see the value of public lands for hunting, fishing, and recreation, or keeping natural landscapes intact to safeguard clean air, water and wildlife habitat.
Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, told HuffPost the GOP realizes selling off federal lands wholesale is a political third rail, so now they’re trying to frame it as a housing solution.
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“But what they’re actually proposing is just more sprawl and McMansions,” Weiss said. Of course, that’s not what the vast majority of Wyomingites want, but I suppose the 75% of Wyoming voters who supported Trump weren’t thinking about the mess states like ours would be left to clean up when they cast their ballots.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Snow showers may grace Wyomingites west of the Laramie Range, but Cheyenne residents may only see rain during Christmas.
The National Weather Service in Cheyenne reports that temperatures will continue to hover in the mid-40-degree range Christmas Eve through the end of the week. Skies will be sunny Tuesday.
Clouds will set in overnight and cover the skies during Christmas on Wednesday. There will be a slight chance of rain showers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow after 4 p.m. Skies will return to mostly sunny Thursday.
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The highs and lows over the next several days are as follows:
Historic Airport Fountian in Cheyenne (Photo Courtesy of the City of Cheyenne)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne councilmembers have approved a liquor license for a restaurant that opened earlier this month.
At its regular Monday meeting, the Cheyenne City Council approved the application for a bar and liquor license from John and Kathy Brent, the owners of Nellie’s Pub & Grub. The eatery opened for business Dec. 10 inside Cheyenne Regional Airport’s terminal, 4020 Airport Parkway.
The Brents appeared at the City Council meeting Dec. 9 to discuss their applications and stood for questions. The two previously operated Rock Ranch Grill and Cafe 307 and have had experience working at other restaurants over the past two decades.
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“Nellie’s Grub & Pub is the perfect place to unwind before or after a flight or to enjoy a meal with friends and family in a relaxed and welcoming environment,” Visit Cheyenne says about the eatery.
The liquor license is active starting Wednesday and will remain in effect until March 31. Nellie’s is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant closes at 2 p.m. Sundays. To learn more about the restaurant, such as menu items, visit its Facebook page here.
UPDATE: At 2:18 p.m., Teton Pass closed to traffic in both directions “due to winter conditions and crashes,” according to an alert by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). Estimated opening time is unknown.
WILSON, Wyo. — A multiple vehicle collision occurred on the east side of Teton Pass around 1:40 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 23, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) has confirmed.
As of 2:05 p.m., TCSO had received multiple calls regarding a collision on Teton Pass, near milepost 11. Deputies and emergency personnel had been dispatched to the scene. The accident is being treated as a collision with injuries, though the extent of the injuries is currently unknown, TCSO said.
The number of vehicles involved in the collision also remains unknown; some calls have estimated as many as six vehicles.
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Wyoming Highway Patrol is expected to handle the incident. The Wyoming Department of Transportation alerted drivers at 2:04 p.m. that Chain Law Level 1 was in effect. Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available.
See the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Teton Pass webcam for conditions, and the travel map for additional details. Drivers can sign up for 511 Notify alerts here.
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Marianne is the Editor of Buckrail. She handles breaking news and reports on a little bit of everything. She’s interested in the diversity of our community, arts/entertainment and crazy weather.