The Wyoming Senate narrowly voted Thursday for a resolution demanding that Congress turn over some 30 million federal acres to the state — but only after first defeating the measure and then reconsidering it.

Senate Joint Resolution 2, “Resolution demanding equal footing,” insists that Congress act by October to begin turning over the property. That includes Grand Teton National Park, all or parts of eight national forests, Devils Tower National Monument, the Thunder Basin National Grassland and vast swaths of sagebrush and desert managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The resolution faces two more votes in the Senate.

The “equal footing” argument behind the resolution proposes that Wyoming is not on a level with midwestern and eastern states. That’s because 46% of Wyoming is federally controlled — owned by all Americans — to the detriment of Wyoming’s sovereignty and economy, lead resolution sponsor Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, said.

He spent a considerable portion of the approximately 35-minute debate touting conservative legal theories and the economic benefits of owning the property and underlying minerals. Under state ownership, the land would have generated almost $24 billion in oil and gas revenue since 1921, he said.

Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, who chaired the session, called the initial voice vote in favor of Ide’s resolution. But a demand for a head count and roll call revealed the 16-14-1 tally.

The resolution “is deemed indefinitely postponed,” Boner said. GOP Sen. Tim French, a GOP supporter of the resolution from Powell, was excused and absent. 

When French reappeared Thursday afternoon, Sen. Ogden Driskill, who originally voted with the majority and against the resolution, called for reconsideration. He and French then made the 16-15 margin in favor. There was no additional debate ahead of the new vote.

Legal theories

The debate offered Ide and others a platform for grievances and explanations of the reasoning behind the resolution. One legal scholar has said those come from a misreading of the Constitution.

After studying legal briefs filed in an unsuccessful attempt by Utah to take the federal land issue straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ide said “I’m more convicted that we have a strong case here, and we need to protect our state.”

Congress has the power to dispose of federal property, he said.

“If the power given to Congress is to dispose territorial and public lands, then Congress has no authority to not dispose,” he told the Senate. “This is just common sense.

“A continued failure on the part of Congress to fulfill its duty to dispose of the aforementioned lands and resources has resulted in two constitutional violations,” Ide said.

He also fielded a question from Buffalo rancher and Republican Sen. Barry Crago regarding a clause in the Wyoming Constitution that says the state “forever disclaim[s] all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within [Wyoming’s] boundaries.”

“I think we may have to deal with our own constitution first,” Crago said.

Ide was undeterred.

“I’ve thoroughly talked to all of the foremost experts on this, too,” he said.  

“I’m convinced that this part of our constitution isn’t a problem,” Ide said, after asserting, “We didn’t disclaim sovereignty and jurisdiction.”

Bashing the BLM

Ide also bashed a BLM initiative to put conservation on an equal footing with drilling, mining and other uses on 3.6 million acres in Southwest Wyoming. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday ordered the Wyoming BLM office to review the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan that Ide referred to and recommend changes by Feb. 18.

“They’re taking 3 million acres out of any human contact,” Ide said of the Rock Springs plan and others like it. Statewide, “our oil and gas leasing has been shut down 87% on federal land since the last administration,” he claimed.

Supporting Ide, industry landman Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, said the last four years “should have been a pretty big eye opener [of] what can happen when the feds go crazy and want to close us down.

“They can destroy our economy,” he said. “They can destroy our way of life because of the power they have.”

Sen. Mike Gierau, a Democrat from Jackson, said he’s received more calls and emails about the resolution “than any other subject so far this session.”

The Grand Teton National Park budget is $13 million for base operation and $110 million over the last two years in maintenance and upkeep. The park operates more than 800 buildings and 23 wastewater systems — “millions and millions of dollars in expenses,” Gierau said.

Fees collected “are nowhere near” the expenses, he said. Grand Teton draws 3.2 million visitors annually and is “the bedrock source of our economy.”

“I would suffice to say, at this moment in time, it is the bedrock economic driver for this entire state.” Under Ide’s plan, the state could cede certain properties like Grand Teton back to the American people.

Lauren Heerschap, owner of Brunton International, LLC, spoke for conservationists and said federal lands are “too important to risk with short-sighted and disingenuous takeover proposals.” She called for another reconsideration on second and third readings.

In addition to Ide, Boner, Driskill, French and Biteman, the reconsideration and resolution itself were backed by Sens. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton; Larry Hicks, R-Baggs; Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne; Stacy Jones, R, Rock Springs; John Kolb, R-Rock Springs; Dan Laursen, R-Powell; Troy McKeown, R-Gillette; Laura Taliaferro Pearson, R-Kemmerer; Tim Salazar, R-Riverton; Darin Smith, R-Cheyenne and Cheri Steinmetz, R-Torrington.