When the Wyoming Outdoor Council heard that state
officials planned to meet with representatives from Nevada’s
rebellious Nye County, the environmental group decided that people
needed to know what Wyoming was up to. Nye County, Nev., gained
notoriety when Commissioner Dick Carver bulldozed his way onto
federal land and the justice department filed suit against the
county’s claim that it “owned” all federal land (HCN, 3/30/95).
Before the Nye folks arrived, Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer told
reporters the meeting was to discuss a possible legal challenge to
federal ownership of public lands. But because of public scrutiny,
Geringer did not attend the meeting and he later announced that
Wyoming would not join the Nye movement, reports the Casper
Star-Tribune. During the meeting, the Eureka County, Nev., district
attorney said Nevada counties hoped Wyoming would take the
federal-lands issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. Tom Throop, director
of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, says he then asked, “You can’t get
your own state so you’ll take any state you can get?” and the
district attorney answered, “Quite frankly, yes.” That shocked the
audience, says Throop, and people were also surprised to hear Nye
County leaders assert that all federal lands – even national parks
– belong to the states and counties. Throop says joining the
lawsuit now would be political suicide for Wyoming officials:
“They’re not going to touch those Nevada counties with a 10-foot
pole.” – Elizabeth Manning
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wyoming refuses to join rebels.
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