When the Joint Appropriations Committee, which I set on contemplated what types of investment we should as a committee recommend to our legislative colleagues for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds we were able to use as replacement funds for lost state revenue due to the COVID pandemic, we concluded we should recommend investment in savings or projects that would impact the state for generations to come. With that vision and following on Governor Gordon’s recommendation we too recommended a deposit of $75-million dollars be put in the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund (WWNRT).

Investment revenue from this fund has been used year after year to protect landscapes and wildlife throughout the state. It is not uncommon to have these funds leveraged at a 7:1 ratio. When initially established the goal was to have $200-million-dollars in this permanent fund. We have been adding to this fund as we felt appropriate, and at the end of 2021 it had a balance of $115-million-dollars.

The $75-million-dollar funding effort was included in the budget bill. There were some who disagreed to further fund the WWNRT and tried to remove it from the budget, I was proud to defend the funding effort in the House floor debate.

I am please to report our effort was successful and with this additional $75 million the WWNRT is almost fully funded.