Natural Resources
As an attorney, I fought to return control of natural resources to local entities, not far-away federal bureaucrats. I am honored to serve on the Natural Resources committee to continue this work from the halls of Congress. I also have the privilege of chairing the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, working with tribal and territorial leaders on issues important to their communities.
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U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming hand delivered news from her work in Washington, D.C. during her Town Hall meeting at the Ten Sleep Senior Center on March 16.
Hageman, who was sworn into office in the early morning of Jan. 3, has returned to Wyoming to keep the people that she represents filled in on the proceedings of the United States Congress. She has been working to hold a town hall meeting in each county during the early part of her term.
For the second year in a row, Wyoming is being shut out from U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that offer wildfire protection services.
It was recently announced Wyoming is not being included in the USDA and U.S. Forest Service’s 10-year strategy to combat wildfires across the American West in 2023. Wyoming is the only Western state that has been left out of the strategy since its inception.
Wyoming has also been left off a recently formed Congressionally mandated wildfire commission. It was the second year in a row for both snubs.
On Tuesday, central Washington’s Dan Newhouse, Chair of the Western Caucus, and California’s Doug LaMalfa, Vice Chair, introduced the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023. In addition House Legislation, companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis and Rep.
This is a release from the Wyoming Congressional Delegation –
• Delegation urges USDA and Forest Service to include Wyoming within its 10-year wildfire strategy and to stop its pattern of excluding Wyoming in the fight against western wildfires
Today, Harriet Hageman voted in favor of the disapproval of the Waters of the United States Act. The consequence of passing a disapproval resolution is that changes to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule will have no force or effect. WOTUS defines what waters qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act. On Dec. 30, 2022, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the revised definition of WOTUS rule, and it goes into effect Mar. 20, 2023.
Western hydropower, fisheries, and farms would not exist without the reservoirs and irrigation infrastructure created by the Reclamation Act on 1902. Much of the Interior West would not exist without this visionary legislation.
Yet the Bureau of Reclamation has chosen to prioritize liberal environmental pursuits that drain our resources over irrigation projects that create abundance for all. The Bureau must return to it's initial purpose of stewarding our water and other natural resources to ensure American prosperity, not poverty.
48% of Wyoming land is owned by the federal government. A map of Wyoming land ownership more closely resembles a massive chess board than a workable land apportionment strategy that fosters economic growth. Even just driving across public land to get to property you own can trigger bureaucratic red tape.
We must also address former President Clinton's "Roadless Rule" which has led to dozens of wildfires and catastrophic pine beetle infestations throughout the West.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s “ecogrief” training is more widespread than originally thought, having already been conducted in “many” of the agency’s regions, according to an internal email obtained by The Washington Times.
But the agency has been struggling to fill all the seats in its upcoming round of training on Friday, with 10 of the 35 slots unclaimed as of Tuesday.