JACKSON — At the kickoff of the Wyoming Legislature’s recent interim Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee meeting, lawmakers didn’t make it through the first agenda item before discussing whether the state should take control of federal public lands.

The debate comes on the heels of the narrow defeat in the Wyoming Senate last session of a bill demanding that Congress turn over all federal lands in the state except Yellowstone National Park.

At Thursday’s meeting, lawmakers brought more nuance to the land transfer conversation.

Some argued that there are certain parcels of land the state would be better equipped to manage, such as reservoirs with heavy recreation currently managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Many agreed that it’s a good time to seek out

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