Wyoming

Supreme Court rejects Utah, Wyoming claims on federal public lands – WyoFile

Published

1 year ago

January 14, 2025

Supreme Court rejects Utah, Wyoming claims on federal public lands – WyoFile

It took the U.S. Supreme Court 12 words and one period to dismiss more than 300 pages of legal arguments in which Utah, Wyoming and other Western states sought to establish control and ownership of millions of acres of federally managed public land.

Utah, Wyoming’s lone U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, state legislators, Gov. Mark Gordon and many others sought an emergency hearing to argue that the federal government illegally owns property that rightfully belongs to Western states. Wyoming and other parties filed briefs of their own supporting the Beehive State’s assertion that federal ownership was detrimental to those commonwealths.

The filings appear to be unappreciated by the justices.

“The motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied,” the court said in an order filed Monday.

Utah’s petition generated another 424 pages of legal entreaties by its supporters and critics, a count that includes rebuttals by the United States and the Ute Tribe.

Utah claimed the federal government could not own and control “unappropriated lands,” which are those not specifically designated for use by an enumerated federal power. Utah targeted 18.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management property belonging to all Americans.

Beehivers first said they wanted the court to “dispose” of the BLM property, then clarified that the state just wanted the court to say it is unconstitutional for the government to hold “unappropriated” acreage.

Hageman claimed that federal ownership is an occupation equivalent to a casus belli, a situation that justifies war or conflict between nations. “[T]he standard is whether the federal government’s actions would amount to an invasion and conquest of that land if—assuming a counterfactual—Utah were a separate sovereign nation,” Hageman’s filing states.

Twenty-six Wyoming lawmakers also saddled up for Utah, urging the court to take up the case and saying their support does not mean they will not seek other federal property for the Equality State. The perturbed posse said its claims could extend to “all former federal territorial lands … now held by the United States … [including] parks, monuments, wilderness, etc.”

Six of the sympathetic signatories — Sens. Tim French (R-Powell), Larry Hicks (R-Baggs), Bob Ide (R-Casper), John Kolb (R-Rock Springs), Dan Laursen (R-Powell) and Cheri Steinmetz (R- Lingle) — voted for a draft bill that would allocate $75 million for the Legislature, independent of the executive branch or other state entities, to litigate against the federal government. Senate File 41 “Federal acts-legal actions authorized” will be considered when the Legislature convenes today.

Gordon was more reserved in Wyoming’s official state plea, alleging “harms that federal ownership … uniquely imposes on western States on a daily basis” as a reason for the Supreme Court to immediately take up the case.

Source link

Wyoming

Wyoming 3A and 4A Boys Basketball Regionals Tip Off Postseason Play

Published

3 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming 3A and 4A Boys Basketball Regionals Tip Off Postseason Play

The 2026 postseason has arrived for Wyoming High School boys’ basketball teams in Class 3A and 4A. They participate in regional tournaments from Thursday through Saturday. The regionals will be in Buffalo, Evanston, Gillette, and Lovell. Three sites will use the format: two wins qualify a team for the state tournament next week in Casper, or two losses eliminate a team. The 4A East Region has three loser-out first-round games on Thursday, followed by two days of games for seeding. The 4A East Regular Season champ draws a first-round bye and has qualified for the state tournament.

WYOPREPS 3A-4A BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES

Except in the 4A East Regional, Friday starts with elimination games. The regional semifinals are on Friday night. The final seeds for next week’s state tournament will be determined on Saturday. The schedules below for this weekend are based on the brackets sent to WyoPreps. It is subject to change.

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (3) Pinedale 58 (6) Mountain View 40

Final Score: (2) Cody 58 (7) Powell 46

Final Score: (1) Lovell 75 (8) Lyman 43

Final Score: (4) Lander 65 (5) Worland 40

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Mountain View vs. Powell, noon – loser out

Game 6: Lyman vs. Worland, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Pinedale vs. Cody, 6 p.m. – semifinal

Game 8: Lovell vs. Lander, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 a.m. – loser out

Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11 a.m. – loser out (at LMS)

Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 5 p.m. – 3rd Place Game

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2 p.m. – Championship Game

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (3) Douglas 85 (6) Rawlins 50

Final Score: (2) Wheatland 57 (7) Burns 40

Final Score: (5) Torrington 35 (4) Newcastle 28

Final Score: (1) Buffalo 69 (8) Glenrock 44

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Rawlins vs. Burns, noon – loser out

Game 6: Newcastle vs. Glenrock, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Douglas vs. Wheatland, 6 p.m. – semifinal

Game 8: Torrington vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, noon – loser out

Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 7:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (if necessary)

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Nominate A Boys Basketball Player For Athlete Of The Week 2025-26

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Final Score: (NW-3) Kelly Walsh 64 (SW-2) Riverton 49

Final Score: (NW-1) Natrona County 77 (SW-4) Jackson 23

Final Score: (NW-2) Green River 50 (SW-3) Evanston 40

Final Score: (SW-1) Star Valley 62 (NW-4) Rock Springs 60 – Erickson makes a turnaround jumper at the buzzer off an offensive rebound for the Braves.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 5: Riverton vs. Jackson, noon – loser out

Game 6: Evanston vs. Rock Springs, 1:30 p.m. – loser out

Game 7: Kelly Walsh vs. Natrona County, 6:30 p.m. – semifinal

Game 8: Green River vs. Star Valley, 8 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11:30 a.m. – loser out

Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 1 p.m. – loser out

Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 4:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (at EMS)

Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game

THURSDAY, MARCH 5:

Game 1: (1) Sheridan = Bye

Final Score: (2) Cheyenne Central 75 (7) Cheyenne South 35 – Bison are eliminated

Final Score: (3) Thunder Basin 75 (6) Laramie 59 – Plainsmen are eliminated; Bolts qualify for state

Final Score: (4) Campbell County 59 (5) Cheyenne East 39 – loser out; Thunderbirds are eliminated; Camels qualify for state.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6:

Game 6: Cheyenne Central vs. Thunder Basin, 4:30 p.m. – semifinal

Game 5: Sheridan vs. Campbell County, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal

SATURDAY, MARCH 7:

Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11:30 a.m. – 3rd Place Game

Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2:30 p.m. – Championship Game

James Johnson Winter Showcase Basketball Tournament 2026

Photos from game action at the James Johnson Winter Showcase tournament in Cheyenne.

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Shannon Dutcher

Source link

Wyoming

Explore small streams of Wyo. with WGFD XStream Angler challenge

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Explore small streams of Wyo. with WGFD XStream Angler challenge

WYOMING — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is rolling out its 2026 XStream Angler challenge, open to anyone looking to fish the smaller streams of Wyoming. The XStream Angler challenge is an opportunity for anglers in the state to explore over 150 streams with instream flow water rights. According to WGFD, instream flow […]

Source link

Wyoming

Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Governor Gordon attends signing of Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver in Washington D.C.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon’s office recently announced that the governor and Director of Family Services (DFS) Korin Schmidt traveled to Washington D.C. on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as other Trump Administration officials, to sign the Wyoming’s Healthy Choice Waiver. A release […]

Source link