The Wyoming Outdoor Council is the most effective and courageous group fighting for protection of Wyoming's environment. 
The Wyoming Legislature
We continue to be committed to following legislative activity very closely; our lobbyist, Richard Garrett, was in Cheyenne for the entire 2009 session advocating on behalf of our members on several important bills. With your help, and in coordination with other environmental groups, we helped defeat a bill that would have radically altered the DEQ’s rule-making authority for groundwater protection (with profound implications for its other responsibilities) and another that would have politicized the process for designating areas as Very Rare and Uncommon. Just as crucially, we offered key support for a successful bill that creates a framework under which building and facilities managers can now implement strategies that will result in decreased energy consumption and decreased energy costs in state and local government buildings. During the session we developed meaningful and important relationships with key legislators and stakeholders. More important, though, was the way that our members responded when called upon to contact individual legislators about pending bills. We believe this is a critical component to how we relate to state government and are grateful for your participation.
Meetings we attend
During the interim (the time between legislative sessions) we attend a variety of committee and third-party stakeholder meetings. Taken together, these meetings form the core of understanding of what will be debated and voted on at the legislature. Typically we attend Minerals; Corporations; Agriculture; and Travel, Recreation, and Wildlife committee meetings as well as the Wind Task Force. If there is another committee meeting that you think we should attend, please let us know. This summer, debate will continue about how Risk Management principles should be applied to the DEQ’s environmental protection mandate. We also anticipate debate about rangeland monitoring, wolf management issues, energy transmission corridors and AML funding (this has implications for the way air quality monitoring functions might be funded). We wonder if you, our members, have any ideas for legislation that could be advanced during the 2010 budget session and/or 2011 general session. If so, please let us know.
Contact your legislator.