County Commissioners Association invites committee to August congressional tour; offers county resources

Jeremiah Reiman, speaking for the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, invited members of the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee to participate in the association's Congressional Tour Initiative in August. The tour will visit Fremont, Natrona, Sweetwater and Carbon counties and brings 15 to 20 congressional staffers from primarily non–public-lands states to see on-the-ground natural resource issues.

Reiman said counties self-fund the tour through a small per-county assessment and that the program has run for three years; organizers view it as a way to expose congressional staff to collaborative, locally driven approaches such as Good Neighbor Authority projects, sage-grouse efforts, water and agriculture topics, mining and energy issues. He invited committee members to join for parts of the tour if desired and asked that the committee avoid scheduling meetings that conflict with the tour dates.

Committee members asked for the tour agenda and indicated interest in participating by splitting coverage so that select committee representation could be present at each leg of the tour. Staff offered to help facilitate and to supply the committee with dates and targeted staffers the counties are hosting. Reiman also offered to attend an upcoming committee meeting to brief members on the tour plan and expected outcomes.

No formal committee action was taken; the association extended an invitation and offered to coordinate with staff to avoid scheduling conflicts and to provide additional information to the committee.