Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee meeting today in Laramie heard state and local officials on Oct. 17, 2025, describe how the Federal Natural Resource Policy account (FINERPA) is used to help counties engage with federal land managers and to support legal, scientific and planning work.

Polly Scott, senior fiscal analyst with the Legislative Service Office, told the committee the account "had $3,800,000 in it" at the end of fiscal 2025 and summarized the appropriation history and grants distributed by the governor's office.

Why it matters: County officials and the governor's policy staff said FINERPA funding has allowed counties to participate in NEPA reviews, prepare natural resource management plans and pool expertise so that local governments can comment in a coordinated way on federal land decisions that affect local economies, infrastructure and tax bases.

Randall Luthy, Governor Gordon's policy director, told the committee the account was created in 1999 to enable the state and local governments "to take any of the actions specified in the subsection related to federal land, water, air, mineral, and other natural resource policies" and that counties typically apply to the governor's office for reimbursement for professional help.

Polly Scott laid out recent budget history and grants. She said the biennial baseline request has generally been $1,000,000 from the general fund; a 2019, standalone appropriation of $1,150,000 funded county plan work, with about $750,000 granted to counties, roughly $210,000 encumbered and about $190,000 reverted. Scott also noted the current account held a mix of general fund and special-revenue appropriations and that a recent budget footnote authorized $850,000 of special revenue to pay for two full‑time-equivalent positions supporting a statewide association of counties.

Nolan Rapp, energy resources policy lead in the governor's office, and Jeremiah Reeman of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association described how counties use FINERPA money to hire technical experts, to participate as cooperating agencies in NEPA and to develop or update local resource plans. "When you have 5 other counties that are really mirroring that message and approaching it from their specific expertise, that is just invaluable," Rapp said of coordinated comments on Bureau of Land Management land‑use planning.

County officials gave specific accounts of what the FINERPA-backed work has supported. Micah Christensen, natural resource counsel for the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, explained the legal hooks that let counties seek coordination and cooperation with federal agencies—citing federal statutes and Wyoming statute sections referenced in committee materials—and why adopted county plans matter when federal agencies perform consistency reviews. "If we have plans that describe the priorities and objectives of local governments, the federal government ... is required to be as consistent to the maximum extent that is consistent with federal law," Christensen said.

Park, Carbon, Converse and Washakie county commissioners described local impacts and the routine uses of the funding: Park County said about 73% of households depend directly or indirectly on public lands; Carbon County said FINERPA has enabled congressional outreach and helped the county move from reacting to federal proposals to participating proactively; Converse County said it had submitted 191 pages of comments on 14 opportunities so far in the year; Washakie County described hiring consultants for plan revisions across multiple counties.

In public comment, Jim McGavin of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association said FINERPA helped counties have an early seat at the table in federal processes and argued that earlier involvement could reduce later litigation. "We are heavily dependent on the fact that the county commissioners along in Wyoming with our conservation districts are the only 2 entities that have a seat at the table earlier in the process," he said.

Committee discussion and next steps: Committee members asked precise questions about how often counties update plans (Rapp said many plans were completed between 2019 and 2022) and about the scope of gubernatorial authority over FINERPA expenditures (the governor's office has statutory appropriation authority and a long-standing practice of awarding reimbursement grants to local governments, officials said). Co‑chair remarks urged staff to assemble a prioritized list of opportunities the state could press under the current federal administration, and county leaders said they would bring recommendations.

Clarifying details presented to the committee included the account balance and appropriation history (see LSO memo): fiscal year 2025 balance ~$3,800,000; baseline biennial general-fund request typically $1,000,000; 2019 special appropriation $1,150,000 for county plan development (approximately $750,000 granted; ~$210,000 encumbered; ~$190,000 reverted); recent budget language set aside $850,000 of special revenue for two statewide‑association employees. Committee members also discussed that plan updates can range from modest tweaks to full land‑use revisions and that costs vary widely by county.

The committee did not take a new formal appropriation action at the meeting; members discussed priorities ahead of the budget session. County leaders requested continued baseline funding for FINERPA and targeted support to update and maintain county natural resource management plans going forward.

Ending: Committee members said they will consider county priorities as they prepare for the upcoming budget session and requested that the governor's office and the County Commissioners Association return with a prioritized list of federal issues the state should pursue while the current administration is receptive.