Gordon: Wyoming stands to benefit from Trump

POWELL - Shortly after being sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday, Donald Trump declared that "the golden age of America begins right now." Gov. Mark Gordon is equally optimistic that it will be an especially good time for the state of Wyoming.

Speaking to representatives of the state's newspapers on Thursday, Gordon said the departure of the Biden administration and arrival of Trump's team means "we're going to be paid attention to."

Under the Trump administration, Gordon said he expects that "If I call, I can get a return call from a secretary and I can have an engaged conversation about why we can't delist the grizzly bear, which has been a really big frustration."

The Biden administration spent years mulling requests from Wyoming and Montana to remove the grizzly from the federal list of "threatened" species before finally rejecting their petitions this month.

While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem populations was "not warranted," state wildlife officials in the two states contend the populations have recovered to the point that federal protections are no longer needed.

"We've got bears that are not only recovered, but we've also demonstrated last year that we can move genetics from one population to the other [in Wyoming and Montana]," Gordon said, "so, problem solved."

Fish and Wildlife Service officials concluded that they needed to look at bears across the entire region rather than just in the two populations, and Gordon said he questioned why they reached that conclusion.

"The response was, 'Well, the bears moved the goalposts,'" the governor said, calling that an "interesting" take.

Gordon predicted "more common sense approaches" under President Trump and said many of those good ideas will come from Western states.

"It is my hope - and I believe - this incoming Trump administration really is looking to the West to solve problems," he said.

Gordon indicated he's particularly eager to continue working with former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Interior, on an "all-of-the-above approach to energy."

Gordon said their shared goal is "how do we make sure that our country can power itself with domestic energy and really do a great job?"

Gordon also expressed enthusiasm about Chris Wright, the head of a Denver-based oil company and Trump's pick for energy secretary.

It will be "so refreshing to have somebody who actually knows about Wyoming, has an industry ... which is very present in the state, [and is] very excited about all of the energy initiatives that Wyoming has brought and recognizes the leadership that we have," Gordon said.

Trump certainly signaled his readiness to boost American energy production on Monday, declaring a "national energy emergency" and other efforts to boost oil and gas production and lower energy prices.

"We will drill, baby, drill," Trump pledged in his inaugural address.

Legislative expectations

While the president is poised to bring a sharp change in direction to the White House, Wyoming is undergoing its own shift this year with the arrival of dozens of new lawmakers. Many are aligned with the more conservative Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which saw big gains in August's Republican primary election.

The caucus has been openly critical of Gordon, including multiple vetoes he issued to bills backed by conservatives last year.

The Freedom Caucus has promised to quickly pass a package of five pieces of legislation related to voter identification, illegal immigration, DEI and ESG efforts, property taxes and transgender issues, followed by another 15 bills.

They're among more than 250 bills that had been introduced in the Wyoming House as of Monday, with nearly 150 more filed in the Senate.

"There's some very big ideas that are in this Legislature, some that don't necessarily track," Gordon offered during his Friday remarks at the Wyoming Press Association convention. "And I think there's going to be a coming to grips with what we can accomplish and what we can't accomplish."

He gave an example from a fall meeting with new lawmakers, in which a representative aligned with the Freedom Caucus asked where things stood with the proposed state shooting complex south of Cody. Gordon said he explained that the state had agreed to lease the land for the complex, but that the plans were contingent on the Legislature approving the funding for the project.

Another new member aligned with the caucus then "folded her arms and said, 'Well, my constituents don't want a dime of taxpayer money going to that project,'" Gordon recalled.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to say, 'Well, that's a legislative problem.' I guess, 'Welcome to the Legislature,'" Gordon said.

Differing priorities

The governor said he's focused on "things that are essential" in this year's general session - such as recovering from last summer's massive wildfires, working to keep OB services available in the state and continuing to improve and innovate in public education.

Gordon also warned that decisions have consequences.

"There's a lot of 'let's get money back to the people', and everyone here appreciates that. We all want to have efficient, lean government," he said. "But we do depend on services."

Gordon specifically advised against turning the state's main savings account, the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, into the "Let's Spend it Right Away Account."

He also expressed wariness about following national trends or legislation coming out of other states.

"I keep getting these messages, 'Why aren't we doing that?' Well, we aren't doing it because we're Wyoming, we're not the rest of the nation," Gordon said. "That's why we're so good in energy, that's why we're so good in education, that's why we're so strong - from the values that are culturally important to Wyoming."