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Comments Needed on Grass Damage Payments
Ag Committee also needs to hear support for In-Stream Flow

What: Joint Interim Agriculture, Public Lands & Water Resources Committee
When: October 20th & 21st, 2003
Where: Newcastle, Wyo., The Fountain Hotel, Galaxy Room

The Joint Interim Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee will meet in Newcastle on October 20th and 21st to discuss several issues important to Wyoming’s wildlife and wild places. On the agenda are proposals for revamping the state’s role in compensating private landowners for extraordinary grass damage, and changes in the temporary transfers of water rights. Gov. Dave Freudenthal will also be on hand to speak with the committee members regarding forestry and water issues affecting Wyoming. Please take a moment to write the committee members and express your opinions regarding the following items.

Wildlife Consumptive Costs:
Because of concerns about limited hunting access and agricultural subsidies funded out of wildlife-management budgets, conservationists and sportsmen across the state have often been wary of proposals to increase damage payments to ranchers for grass consumed by game animals. Now, the Wapiti Ridge CRM (Coordinated Resource Management) organization has asked the Legislature to compensate landowners for “Extraordinary Grass Damage” done by game animals on private lands.

“Extraordinary Grass Damage” is defined as grass consumption over and above what is normal by wildlife within a year’s time. There was some interest on changing the term “grass damage” to “Native Livestock Forage,” but, as was pointed out to the Subcommittee, those shrubs and forbs occasionally used by livestock are the mainstay of wildlife, therefore giving the landowner compensation for forbs and grasses not usually associated with livestock consumption.

Conservation and sporting groups strongly believe that meaningful public access for sportsmen must be included in this proposal.

The subcommittee has forwarded a proposal to the Agriculture and Travel, Recreation and Wildlife committees for four pilot projects to test the Wapiti Ridge CRM proposal in each geographic corner of the state. Sen. Bill Vasey (D-Rawlins) moved for a $100,000 appropriation to get the ball rolling.

Please contact the Agriculture Committee members named below and urge them to tie public hunting access to any “extraordinary damage” claim program. Also, please let legislators know that taking any such payments out of the Game and Fish Department budget would hurt Wyoming’s wildlife.

Temporary Transfer of Water Rights
During the 2003 Legislative session, an Interim study was assigned to a Joint Sub-Committee of the Agricultural, Public Lands and Water Resource Committee to recommend legislation to the whole committee. During the Sub-Committee meeting in Cheyenne, only two of the four initially proposed bills were discussed. Under one bill that was only briefly discussed, the State Engineer’s Office (SEO) developed the language that would have given water-rights holders the ability to temporarily transfer their water rights for in-stream flow without handing them over to the state. Not one of the committee members brought the bill up for debate.

Another bill passed the subcommittee (04LSO-0110.C1), which would give municipalities the ability to temporarily transfer their water rights to in-stream flows. But it was amended to the point that it severely limits the state engineer’s ability to consider any temporary change in water use, other than a few specific applications.

Subcommittee amendments to the bill could possibly jeopardize several existing informal water transfers between agricultural producers and municipalities, as well as adversely affecting power plants that rely on those transfers to maintain day-to-day operations and regulate pollution.

Currently, power plants across the state buy water from irrigation districts for cooling purposes. Because of the drought, these power plants don’t have enough water to operate within their guidelines. By amending a piece of key language back into the bill, these entities would have the legal authority to continue to buy the water needed to keep the plants producing energy that services the state and the country.

Please contact the members of the committee and ask that all four initially proposed in-stream flow bills be debated in the full committee. Also, please stress to lawmakers that It is extremely important that the committee put back the language that was amended out of the surviving bill by reinstating the words “or other temporary purposes” to section “a” of the draft bill (page 2, line 4, 04LSO-0110.C1).

How to Contact Key Lawmakers
Legislators need to hear your voice! If you cannot attend the meeting, please take a moment and comment to:

Gerald E. Geis (Republican) Senate Chairman
600 Holly Avenue
Worland, WY 82401
(307) 347-6443
E-Mail Address ggeis@senate.wyoming.com

Bill Barton (Republican) Senator
P.O. Box 799
Upton, WY 82730
(307) 468-2543 Fax: (307) 468-2568
E-Mail Address bbarton@senate.wyoming.com

Rich Cathcart (Democrat) Senator
773 Highway 217
Carpenter, WY 82054
307-649-2315 Fax: 307-634-9263
E-Mail Address rcathcart@cheyennehomes.com

Laness D. Northrup (Republican) Senator
736 Lane 13
Powell, WY 82435
(307) 754-4472
E-Mail Address lnorthrup@senate.wyoming.com

Bill Vasey (Democrat) Senator
812 E. Murray
Rawlins, WY 82301
(307) 328-9274
E-Mail Address bvasey@senate.wyoming.com

James C. Hageman (Republican) House Chairman
HC 72 Box 340
Ft. Laramie, WY 82212
307-837-2890
E-Mail Address hageman@actcom.net

Bob Brechtel (Republican) Representative
3160 Cotton Creek
Casper, WY 82604
307-237-3174
E-Mail Address bbrechtel@house.wyoming.com

Ross Diercks (Democrat) Representative
P.O. Box 1047
Lusk, WY 82225
307-334-2224 307-334-3670 Fax: 307-334-2400
E-Mail Address diercks@wyoming.com

Elaine Harvey (Republican) Representative
792 Garfield Avenue
Lovell, WY 82431
(307) 548-7866
E-Mail Address harvey00@tctwest.net

Layton Morgan (Democrat) Representative
1704 Division Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82007
307-632-8204
E-Mail Address morgans@cheyennehomes.com

Mick Powers (Republican) Representative
#380 County Road 256
Lyman, WY 82937
(307) 787-6362
E-Mail Address mpowers2@house.wyoming.com

Ed Prosser (Republican) Representative
P.O. Box 14
Cheyenne, WY 82003
(307) 632-6068
E-Mail Address eprosser@house.wyoming.com

Mark Semlek (Republican) Representative
1307 D Road
Moorcroft, WY 82721
(307) 756-9294
E-Mail Address msemlek@house.wyoming.com

James J. Slater (Republican) Representative
1727 Rainbow Avenue
Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 742-6378
E-Mail Address slater@wyoming.com

Selected Items on Committee Meeting Agenda

Monday, October 20, 2003
8:35 am Water projects update; Tribal Relations Report on water development
9:30 am Proposed legislation: 04LSO-0110.C1 Water-temporary use-2; 04LSO-0147.W1 Carbon storage-extension.
1:00 pm Wildlife consumptive costs to agriculture producers

Tuesday, October 21, 2003
8:30 am Update on wildlife and livestock diseases
9:30 am Gov. Freudenthal's views on forestry and water issues

You can find the entire agenda at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2003/interim/ag/meetings/agd1020.htm

Thank you for your interest in Wyoming’s wildlife!

For additional information, contact:
Ben Lamb, Wyoming Conservation Voters – ben@wyovoters.org
Patricia Dowd, Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club – patricia.dowd@sierraclub.org
Michele Barlow, Wyoming Outdoor Council – mbarlow@lariat.org