Those not arriving early for the inaugural Protect Wyoming's public presentation were surprised with a nice walk to Cody Craft Brewing after finding convenient parking areas jam-packed. Finding an empty seat in the brewery was even more of a challenge.

The large turnout could be interpreted in at least two ways: There's great concern about saving public land in this part of the Cowboy State, or folks will sign up for almost anything when beer and pizza is on the menu. Considering the food and drinks weren't free, it's apparent the concern that leaders will try to sell public lands has started a political firestorm.

When Protect Wyoming co-founder Zac Lentsch arrived at the podium, he looked out and told the crowd why the new organization chose Cody for their first event: Park County has the most public land of any county in the state; Park County has some of the greatest population density and diversity of wildlife populations in the state of Wyoming; and a larger proportion of Park County residents hunted big game in 2024 than those who voted in the primary that same year. Despite the county residents' obvious respect for public land, it didn't translate politically, Lentsch said.

"All of our Park County state representatives and state senators are squarely anti-public land, and I will prove it to you tonight," Lentsch said, drawing a solid round of applause from those in the crowd before adding, "The biggest takeaway is that way more people hunt in Wyoming than vote, which is crazy, and with numbers like that, we shouldn't be surprised that when our representatives don't hunt and recreate by and large, we won't have representation that reflects our values and our heritage as hunters and as public land owners in Wyoming."

Lentsch said in a press release the mission of the organization is to change the current situation — where national forests, parks and habitat managed by the Bureaus of Land Management and Reclamation are threatened — through political activism. But in this case, they have pledged to do so as a non-partisan entity.

"Public lands and wildlife shouldn't be political," Lentsch said. "These invaluable sources of wonder and wildness are our way of life in Wyoming. Growing up hunting elk on the west slope of the Bighorns and antelope in the roughly 5 or so million acres of sagebrush steppe managed by the BLM in the basin, my whole perspective on life was shaped by these wild places from an early age." 

Lentsch owns a guiding business that operates on three national forests, one national park, and five BLM districts across the state.

"My livelihood is built on showing others how to responsibly recreate on public lands," he said. "I would have never thought anyone could be against this way of life." 

Lentsch claims the Wyoming Legislature is full of politicians who want to sell our lands and wildlife off to the highest bidder. In Park County, where 78% of the land is public land and almost half of our GDP comes from tourism associated with public lands, every member of our state legislative delegation has voted to sell off our public lands or to privatize our wildlife, he said.

"When I asked Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, a co-sponsor of a bill last year that called for the transfer all federal public lands, if he took into consideration the potential impact on the county, he told me he didn't care because he believes public lands shouldn't exist. This is unacceptable," Lentsch said.

"These legislators don't listen to their constituents so it's time to vote them out. Protect Wyoming PAC's mission, simply put, is to make a statement in this year's state election. That is, if you don't support public lands and wildlife in Wyoming, you don't have a political future in this state."

Protect Wyoming wants to engage directly with voters. They won't coordinate with candidates or campaigns. On the contrary, the organization wants to watch and report to voters on the actions of the state Legislature concerning public land issues, not just what they promise during campaigns, he said.

"Someone might tell you they're pro public lands, especially this year, because they're realizing it's a winning issue, but what is their actual voting record?" Lentsch said.

There were several speakers on the meeting agenda. First up was Greg Hertel, ranch manager of Ishawooa Mesa Ranch. As a rancher, he has a "unique relationship" with public lands, grazing allotments and leases. But he's also both a hunter and an active wildlife conservationist.

"Without [allotments and leases], we wouldn't be financially sustainable," Hertel said. "If you don't want to deal with grizzly bears and elk, you can ranch in Nebraska. We enjoy seeing them and having them around."

Hertel said wildlife management should be done by the professionals, not by legislators or in courts. He is ready to stand up to politicians and be a loud voice in habitat protection.

"We're going to support these guys 100% and I hope you do too," he said. "Get informed and get a loud voice. You'll feel good about it, and Wyoming is going to be a better place."

Former Cody state representative Sandy Newsome was next at the podium to share some legislative background on the fight against public lands in Wyoming. Newsome, who served three terms, was called a "warrior" for public lands. Newsome was the key in getting the state to start a recreation trust fund which supports outdoor recreation infrastructure; a first of its kind in the nation.

Newsome noted legislation in the last two sessions that would have taken all of state's federal lands and have them be state land; a bill voted for by Laursen and Tim French, R-Powell, she said. She also mentioned several other bills she felt were bad ideas, including making the sale of landowner tags legal and removing mountain lions and grizzly bears from management control of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

"What you'll find about legislation is it comes back and back and back around. So although these bills didn't pass this time, I bet we'll see them next year, and we need to continue to fight against them," Newsome said.

She was also concerned about a significant drop in voting between 2022 and 2024. She said 1,000 fewer people voted in 2024 in her district than in the previous cycle.

"We need to vote. This is all going to be about turnout. We can get people elected if we have a good turnout," Newsome said.

Lentsch said the organization needs volunteers to knock on doors, voters in Wyoming to actually show up in the primaries, and financial support from those who have the ability to give.

"We're up against a huge stream of dark money pouring into elections that comes from billionaires who want to sell off our public land," he said.

All work associated with this effort is entirely voluntary, according to the organization's website. No board members or contributors receive compensation for their time or services, ensuring that donations are used solely to support educational outreach and awareness initiatives rather than administrative or payroll costs. Funds will be used for social media and mailer campaigns, placing billboards, peer-to-peer education, and podcasts and interviews, according to the organization.

"We can't vote for the candidates that are pro-public lands, pro-public wildlife, and pro-scientific management if we don't know who they are," Lentsch said. "Our plan is to make sure every sportsman and woman, and everyone who uphold these values, votes in the 2026 primary on Aug. 18, and votes for the candidates who will protect Wyoming."