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In light of the controversial Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs resource management plan, State Rep. John Winter (R-HD28), said that the state’s Federal Natural Resource Management Committee is sponsoring a bill for the upcoming budget session with the intention of putting a check on BLM and limit federal government overreach.

The Natural Resource Protection Act reads as, “The federal government shall comply with federal law when administering federal lands; The federal government arbitrarily restricting significant amounts of federal lands from public use is contrary to managing federal land under principles of multiple use and sustained yield.”

Winter said, “It was inspired by the activities of the BLM and what they’re doing in Rock Springs […] What they’re trying to do is going to impact Wyoming tremendously, and not in a good way.”

According to a previous Northern Wyoming News article, the BLM Rock Springs resource management plan would heavily prioritize conservation and limiting activity on lands, instead of utilizing natural resources.

“That’s the primary purpose of this bill, is to not support BLM activities if they’re going against federal law,” he said. “We depend on these natural resources to survive here and it’s our way of life. We have to do what we can to protect it. The folks in D.C. don’t seem to understand that,” said Winter. He hopes that with this bill and its potential impact, will serve as an example to other states in how they can work to protect their lands and resources.

Winter said a bill coming out of the Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources committee would bring money to the state with the intention of helping to limit BLM activities.

Winter said he has yet to sponsor any bills, and is typically hesitant to do so. Winter recognizes that new laws are necessary in some cases, but he said he generally feels as though the state has enough laws that suffice.

However, Winter said he has been working on a few issues. One bill Winter has sponsored in the past would amend the dentist and dental hygienist licensing statue to include denturists, and Winter hopes to sponsor it again in the future.

He has also been working on issues regarding numerous vacant positions in the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Wyoming Game and Fish. Winter said he thinks that the issue has been created by a combination of unemployed people being highly compensated, and the state of Wyoming not having enough funding for the open positions to make them attractive to those seeking jobs.

Winter additionally discussed the issue of rising property taxes. “I think that most everybody is in agreement that something needs to be done to stop the increase of property taxes,” he said.

According to Winter, there are several potential bills coming out that could help to prevent or slow down the increase in rising property taxes, including a cap.

As for the budget, Winter said the proposed biennual budget is $9.9 billion. When compared to the most recent budget of $8.1 billion, it is a 12% increase, said Winter.

“I’m not sure that [increase] is necessary,” said Winter, as he is largely not in favor of the budget and how money will be spent. “There are going to be a lot of discussions down there, and we’ll have to see how it all goes down,” he said.

Winter is part of three House committees – Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources, Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources and Federal Natural Resource Management Committees and is up for re-election this year.