On Feb. 16, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney came to the University of Wyoming to speak about how she hopes to keep students in-state by expanding Wyoming’s economy.
According to a 2019 Department of Workforce Services study, Wyoming’s 25-40 year old population decreased by roughly 6% in the latter half of the 2010s. Cheney hopes to improve Wyoming’s retention of this and younger populations.
“Well it’s a huge issue,” Cheney said. “We want to make sure we keep our students here.”
Cheney emphasized that a stable and growing economy is the best way to entice students, as well as the rest of the population, to stay in the state.
“There are a lot of good efforts that are underway, in terms of the business council, in terms of the tourism industry, in terms of helping to promote Wyoming as a place where we want people to come,” Cheney said.
Cheney also said that the fossil fuel industry must remain a cornerstone in the state’s future.
“As you think about the industries that have meant so much to us, we want to make sure we are protecting those,” Cheney said. “We want to make sure that we are not seeing government regulation that strangles those industries.”
At this time, 48% of Wyoming’s land is federally owned and has seen increased regulations in recent years, halting leases for fossil fuel and agricultural uses.
Cheney said that newly spurred efforts to conserve land and curb climate change, such as the possible creation of expanded wilderness areas, may not be what is best for the state.
“I think that wilderness areas have a very important role in the economy of our state, but I don’t think we ought to be setting more land off-limits,” Cheney said. “I think that it’s really detrimental overall.”
Travel has also represented a large portion of the state economy in past years.
According to The Wyoming Department of Tourism travel report for 2020, the tourism industry saw a 23% decline, a loss of roughly $1 billion. The nation saw a decline of 36% overall.
Other than protecting Wyoming’s pre-existing industries, Cheney hopes to explore new avenues to diversify the economy of Wyoming, noting manufacturing as one such avenue for development.
“If we are able to get the word out about the quality of life in Wyoming, about the quality of our workforce, and about our investment climate, we really can attract businesses here,” Cheney said.
Cheney made it clear on what she believes Wyoming’s future, and ultimately the effort to keep college graduates in-state, rests on.
“A lot of it for us in Wyoming comes down to regulation, and so much of it is what the federal government is doing,” Cheney said.
“We have to stop the bad stuff and we have to make sure we are doing everything we can to help encourage people to come and make investments here.”
