The Fremont County Republican Party passed a resolution during its convention last week addressing the greenhouse gas emission goals the Lander City Council set in 2023.
Lander resident and FCRP Precinct 1-1 Committeewoman Karen Wetzel presented the resolution to the Lander Council during a regular meeting Tuesday.
‘A resolution to remove the City of Lander’
Originally, she said, the resolution proposed “that the county of Fremont be split into two counties, following state senate district lines, in an effort to assist the City of Lander with achieving (carbon) neutrality through financial measures.”
“(It) was a resolution to remove the City of Lander … because the City of Lander has expressed, via resolution, a desire to be carbon neutral,” Wetzel said.
That portion of the resolution was defeated, however.
“We got that taken out, thankfully,” Wetzel said, “because a lot of people in Lander want to be in Fremont County.”
The portion of the resolution that the Party did approve notes that “northern Fremont County has large deposits of oil and gas currently being extracted,” so “the City of Lander should work towards their carbon neutral position without the benefit of tax dollars derived from Wyoming industries that are carbon dependent.”
Lander’s greenhouse gas emissions targets envision a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations by 2023, a 50 percent reduction by 2040, and an 80 percent reduction by 2050, using 2021 as a baseline.
“Progress towards those goals and consideration of new goals will be reevaluated every five years,” the resolution states.
The Wyoming Republican Party defines a resolution as “a formal statement of policy or procedure to adopt in response to a particular issue.”
FCRP Vice Chairwoman Ginger Bennett said a resolution is a “position statement” about “timely … issues of the day” that are “important” to the Party.
For more information, call the City of Lander at 332-2870.