WTE: Governor Gordon, mountain goats and Wyoming’s roar

Rarely has a Wyoming governor so publicly rebuked the federal government. But the terse and fiery letter that Governor Gordon sent to Gopaul Noojidail, acting superintendent, Grand Teton National Park, proved that our governor can roar.

“Let me begin,” wrote Gordon, “by expressing my profound disappointment that the National Park Service chose to act unilaterally aerially executing mountain goats over the State of Wyoming’s objections. I will remember your blatant disregard for the advice of Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department.”

The dispute between Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) concerns a herd of mountain goats that share an ecosystem with Teton’s bighorn sheep. Last fall the herd was estimated at 100-150. Fearing that they might spread pneumonia to the bighorn sheep, GTNP officials want the herd gone. WGFD does not object to killing the goats, it only objects to the unfairness of aerial shooting and the waste of leaving them to rot.

They want GTNP to treat the mountain goats like they already treat excess elk. The ban on hunting within the park boundaries is simply suspended for elk under tightly-controlled conditions. Such a special goat hunt was already held last fall. Its success surpassed expectations. Now the goat population is down to about 100.

Nevertheless, on February 21, 2020 they commenced firing. In a single day of slaughter, 36 dead goats were left to rot. This was in open defiance of a January 15, 2020 letter from Wyoming’s Game and Fish Commission objecting that, “aerial gunning by GTNP personnel to remove these goats is inconsistent with all notions of game management, fair chase, and totally inconsistent with years of GTNP management of big game animals in GTNP.”

“I am simply at a loss for why the Park Service would ignore an opportunity to work towards a solution,” wrote Gordon, I “can only take it as an expression of your regard for neighbors and of the respect you apparently do not have for Wyoming or our professionals.” This is a “farce that I will long remember,” he continued. “Please rest assured that I will make sure your park’s attitude and willingness to find solutions is well communicated to our delegation, the Secretary of Interior, and others.”

Gordon made good on his words. By Friday night, secretary of the interior, David Bernhardt, ordered park officials to stand down. Hopefully, the ceasefire will stay in place until qualified sportsmen are permitted to hold a fair hunt that is respectful of the majesty of these animals.

Beyond the waste and disrespect, there is still more at stake. Governor Gordon pointed this out in the closing paragraph of his letter. “I have long appreciated Grand Teton National Park for the treasure it is to all our citizens. Now I hope I will not have to remember it as an example of federal disregard for the sovereignty of the states.”

State sovereignty is one of three pillars of American governance: Federalism, Enumerated Powers, and the Separation of Powers. The framers of the Constitution designed the federal government to protect the natural rights of all people through these principles.

The Separation of Powers divides power among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. The one who writes the laws cannot be either the enforcer or the judge.

The Enumeration of Powers gives the federal government only the powers specified in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. The Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights then stipulates: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Finally, Federalism is the principle of representative government. It is the reason for the electoral college and the U.S. Senate. While it is relatively easy to sway 50.1% of the national population toward bad policy, it is more difficult to persuade 50.1% of a thousand discrete jurisdictions. This protects minorities from the tyranny of the mob.

Governor Gordon wrote to defend the principle of enumerated powers. As this column pointed out several weeks ago, WGFD is not a federal department, but a state agency. It has jurisdiction over all game and fish in the state whether they swim in privately owned lakes or wander on nationally owned parks and forests.

Animals that range across boundaries, are not owned by the landowner—even if that landowner is the federal government. By opposing the federal slaughter of mountain goats, Governor Gordon was, in fact, standing for the constitutional freedoms of every citizen.

Ultimately, it’s not about 100 goats. It’s about the constitutional government of 331 million free citizens. Last week Wyoming roared. A tiny fraction of the American population (1/600th) halted a federal travesty. In that moment, Governor Gordon was defending every single American.

Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on March 6, 2020.