In Wyoming, for example, state lands ban camping, preventing multi-day backcountry hunting and fishing trips. Sportsmen’s groups generally oppose such transfers, as they would likely limit public access. In the West, the Utah, Montana and Nevada state legislatures have introduced resolutions urging the transfer of federal lands to state ownership. In Congress, Republicans refused to renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a popular program that safeguards natural areas. Once President Donald Trump took office in 2016, his administration slashed national monuments and put increasing amounts of public land up for resource extraction. Republicans carried on that legacy until the early 1990s, when the GOP began opposing environmental initiatives. IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, conservation became a political issue in America, fueled largely by Theodore Roosevelt’s desire to protect rich hunting and fishing grounds. As state legislatures shift in 2019, sportsmen’s groups are positioning themselves to fight the administration’s erosion of public-land protections. But in Idaho and Wyoming, two of the West’s most conservative states, hunters and anglers threw down the gauntlet, demanding state policies that protect access and voting down gubernatorial candidates who threaten public lands. In recent decades, however, the party has developed a reputation as the enemy of public lands, a stance further solidified by the Trump administration’s rapid rollback of protections. Republicans were once instrumental in passing laws like the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. “Gov.-Elect Little was willing to come in front of hunters and anglers and say he supports public lands.” In a state where only 12 percent of voters are registered Democrats, that primary victory all but handed Little the governorship. “In not coming to a sportsmen’s forum, you allow everyone to fill in the blanks,” said Michael Gibson, Idaho field coordinator for Trout Unlimited. In a political climate marked by public-land threats, Labrador’s absence spoke volumes, and he lost the primary to Little by 5 points.
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