The Western Landowners Alliance recently announced the hiring of Jason Fearneyhough, veteran agriculture and natural resources advocate with service in Wyoming, as the organization’s first Chief Policy Officer. 

Fearneyhough previously served as the deputy commissioner of agriculture for Texas from 2015-2023. In Texas, Fearneyhough managed a global-scale agency with more than 650 employees and an annual budget surpassing $1 billion. Prior to his appointment in Texas, Fearneyhough served the people of Wyoming as deputy director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture from 2006-2009 and then director from 2009-2014. He was first appointed to his position in Wyoming by Democrat Dave Freudenthal, and re-appointed by Republican Matt Mead.  

Fearneyhough was born and raised in Wyoming, and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and then a master’s degree in business administration. He is a co-founder of World Ag Journal, a global agriculture news aggregator. 

“We are at a pivotal moment for both agriculture and conservation in the West,” remarked Western Landowners Alliance CEO Lesli Allison. “Increasingly, people are recognizing the vital importance of working lands to both people and wildlife. We need sound public policies that help us keep these lands whole and healthy. Jason is an incredibly well-known and well-respected bridge-builder and advocate for agriculture and sustainable resource management. His astute policy mind makes him the perfect fit for WLA, and for this moment in the West.” 

Board members were quick to choose Fearneyhough for the job.

“Having known and worked with him for the better part of two decades, I can say definitively, there is no one better for this job than Jason,” said Bob Budd, Western Landowners Alliance board member and executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust. “He’s an incredible champion for a West that works for people, agriculture and wildlife, and I look forward to having his amazing background and passion as a member of the incredible WLA team.” 

Fearneyhough will turn his attention immediately to stalled farm bill negotiations in Congress, as well as big issues facing working lands in statehouses across the West. “We’re facing some immense challenges in the West,” he said, adding “an ongoing megadrought, intense development pressure and population growth, critical pollinator declines, among others. The time for non-partisan, practical, Western solutions to these issues is right now.” 

Fearneyhough lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming with his wife, Tina, and their two corgis. 

Western Landowners Alliance advances policies and practices that support working lands, connected landscapes and native species in the American West. Learn more at westernlandowners.org or connect with Jason and other staff on Linkedin at linkedin.com/company/western-landowners-alliance