County commissioners across the Big Horn Basin often find themselves at odds with federal policymakers on environmental issues, and they hope that offering some on-the-ground education will help make their case. In August, Park, Big Horn, Washakie and Hot Springs counties plan to host a group of congressional staffers for a tour of the Basin.

Park County Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said the intent is to provide “first-hand experience about what we’re about in Wyoming.”

“What we’re doing is we’re trying to educate the less educated — the people that are actually making those decisions and writing legislation back in Washington that have a direct effect to us here locally in Wyoming,” Thiel said.

Assuming the plans come together, the local governments will welcome around 10 congressional staffers for a weeklong trip next summer. The four counties plan to present as many as a dozen different topics — three apiece — around the theme of the environment.

“With today’s people in Washington, you know there’s no shortage of that subject, from Waters of the U.S. to 30x30 and everything like that,” Thiel said. He was referring to a pair of Biden administration initiatives that aim to regulate small streams and protect 30% of the country’s land and water by 2030, respectively; both initiatives have been denounced by local commissioners over the years.

However, Thiel added that, “whatever topic we come up with, we don’t want to bring them [the staffers] here and beat the hell out of them,” suggesting commissioners showcase both the positive and negative effects of federal policies.

Thiel gave the example of highlighting the targeted logging that’s been done in the Crandall area of the Shoshone National Forest, showing how that work has improved the health of the forest.

Possible topics batted around at a Dec. 14 meeting included oil and natural gas production, bentonite mining, grazing and sugar beets and other Roundup Ready crops.

The entire tour is expected to cost around $50,000, with $25,000 covered by the State of Wyoming through its Federal Natural Resource Policy Account (FNRPA). Assuming commissioners around the state agree, the rest of the bill will be split among all 23 counties, with the thought that the tour will become an annual event and eventually visit each part of Wyoming; the state has already committed $25,000 for three years.

Thiel believes it’s worth the cost, saying the investment “could easily pay off 100-times-fold on any one decision with the right person in the right place.”

Bailey Brennan of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association said the organization is “super excited” about the initiative. The association has already retained Washington, D.C.-based consultant Jennifer Johnson of Bighorn Public Affairs Group, who’s organized similar junkets in northeastern Wyoming for the past 11 years.

Johnson said she will focus on finding staffers for congressional members who are serving on committees related to agriculture, natural resources or other issues important to the Big Horn Basin.

“I don’t want to just get anybody,” she told commissioners. “I want the decision makers that the members of Congress are going to ask for updates on certain issues.”

The energy-focused tours hosted by the Northeastern Wyoming Municipal Leader’s Group over the past decade have been successful, Johnson said. Multiple tour members have gone on to positions in the Biden and Trump administrations, bringing their first-hand knowledge of Wyoming energy with them, she said.

Having a bipartisan contingent of staffers is important, Johnson said, but she prefers to have one or two more people from Democratic offices than Republican ones.

“It seems like when there’s environmental concerns, maybe we need to educate some of the more liberal offices more,” she explained. “So it’s really fun and exciting, I think, to bring those staffers from liberal-leaning offices to Wyoming. A lot of them just really never had a chance even to come to Wyoming.”

During last summer’s Northeastern Wyoming Municipal Leader tour, amid a field trip on grazing, Thiel said some of the staffers became concerned when their bus caved in a prairie dog hole, wondering how the animals would get out.

“It was extremely crazy how naive they were, on how Wyoming works, and things like that,” Thiel said. “I’m sure they’re very intelligent, educated people, but what we’re doing is exactly that: educating them on what really happens here in Wyoming.”

Toward the end of this month’s discussion, Thiel said commissioners could try something “totally off the wall” to make an impression on their guests. The Clark resident threw out the idea of staging a bus breakdown on top of Dead Indian Overlook and advising the group they’d need to start walking — with no cellular service and a warning that large carnivores roam the area.

“You could make a skit out of it, and I guarantee they’ll remember it,” Thiel said.

The brainstorm drew some chuckles.

“What do you guys drink in Clark?” quipped Washakie County Commissioner Fred Frandson.

Park County Commission Chairman Lee Livingston alternatively suggested arranging a horseback tour.

While the exact dates have yet to be chosen, the plan is for congressional staffers to arrive on a Monday, spend Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday touring the Basin and head home on Friday.

“There’s a lot to pack into a short amount of time,” said Brennan, of the WCCA. She encouraged commissioners to be really deliberate in how the time is used.

Commissioners will refine their plans in the coming weeks and months.