Senator is Ranking Member on Public Lands & Forests Panel

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Barrasso , R-Wyo., today was named Ranking Member on the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, under the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“As Ranking Republican on this panel, I will have considerable input into the public lands and forest interests that are so important to our state’s economy,” Barrasso said. “I will work to make sure that public lands remain open to multiple-use.”

“Public lands cover nearly half of our state,” Barrasso continued. “My new assignment will allow me to have a greater role in shaping the policies that affect the lands and forests that represent our state’s outstanding recreational values.”

The Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee oversees public lands administered by BLM and the U.S. Forest Service, including farming and grazing on those lands, wilderness areas, national mining and minerals policy, surface mining, and reclamation and enforcement.