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In a 15-15 vote on Monday, the Wyoming senate defeated a proposed resolution demanding Congress transfer ownership of all federal public land excluding Yellowstone National Park to the state.
The resolution was introduced late last month by Senator Bob Ide, a commercial real estate developer, who argued that the measure was necessary to counteract federal overreach and theorized that the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to turn over the public land. The resolution failed despite two amendments to dilute the original proposal—the first excluded Grand Teton National Park from the demand, and the second excluded national forests, monuments, and historic sites.
The vote comes just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Utah's latest land grab lawsuit, which demanded control of over 18 million acres of national public land. These efforts add to the long list of states' failed attempts to take over national public lands—efforts that remain deeply unpopular with the public.
Bill would move BLM HQ back to Colorado
U.S. Representative Jeff Hurd introduced a bill that would relocate the Bureau of Land Management headquarters back to Grand Junction, Colorado, following the blueprint of Project 2025 and President Donald Trump's first term. The relocation of the BLM headquarters during Trump's first term included moving hundreds of Washington-based positions to state offices across the West, but resulted in dozens of senior-level staffers leaving the bureau.
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We hold these lands dear. We hold these lands sacred.”
