Instead, land transfer critics urged lawmakers to follow recommendations from a recently released report that said the state would accomplish more if it worked with counties to produce land use plans, chock full of numbers and data.

Earlier in the day, lawmakers reviewed the report by Y2 Consultants of Jackson. The Legislature commissioned the report in 2015, and the consultants completed it in August. The study determined that there would be few benefits and many liabilities if Wyoming were to manage the lands under federal ownership.

Lawmakers praised the report, including legislators such as Rep. David Miller, who is not on the committee but attended the meeting to hear more about the study.

“I agree with the conclusion of the report is [that] we cannot manage the public lands under the federal mandates that are out there,” Miller said. “The problem is the federal mandates that are being dictated to us from Washington, D.C. It’s not the regulators in Wyoming.”

Chamois Andersen of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation said her organization was encouraged that the committee agreed with the study’s conclusions.

But she questioned whether the study might be used for political purposes.

“We are concerned this allows the committee to open the doors for transfer of public lands and it gives them clout to do so because of all the problems with management of the lands,” she said. “It gives them ammunition and momentum to really move forward with the transfer movement that the majority seems interested in.”

Follow political reporter Laura Hancock on Twitter @laurahancock

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