Building the Wyoming We Want

*****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******

Contact: 
Terry Cleveland, Advisory Committee Chair
Ph.: 307-315-1289
terry.cleveland@bresnan.net

Press Secretary Cara Eastwood
Office: (307) 777-7437
Cell: (307) 421-0197

GOVERNOR URGES WYOMING RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE ON GROWTH

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – At the Building the Wyoming We Want: Vision and Values Conference today, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said that while Wyoming residents might have views on how their communities should address growth going forward, their views won’t make a difference unless they actively engage in the discussion.

Audio clip: 060909 BW3 Governor1.mp3
Text of audio clip:
“This is a remarkable place, but if we want it to be that way going forward, we have to activate ourselves at the level where people say, “We believe that you and I know how to make this work.” We may know how to do it, but the question is whether we will do it.

Are we actually going to act, or are we going to just let things happen to us
by default? I believe we are completely capable of acting.”

Change is coming to Wyoming, like it or not, he said.

Audio clip: 060909 BW3 Governor2.mp3
Text of audio clip:
“If there is anything that’s certain, it’s that things are going to change. Change is inevitable, but positive change and positive growth are not. And we have lots of demonstrations of that around the state.”

Dee Allsop, a nationally-recognized opinion researcher, presented the findings of a statewide values survey that indicated Wyoming residents think that they, not the government, are the ones who should guide the state’s growth going forward.

Allsop encouraged the local leaders in the audience to find a way to take this desire for involvement and put it to use. 

Audio clip: 060909 BW3 Dee Allsop.mp3
Text of audio clip:
“I think there’s a real opportunity for you to harness with the public – putting a lot of confidence in their own abilities to deal with these things. They think that they are best able to deal with change and you ought to take advantage of that and find ways to harness their involvement. Put the problems in front of them, provide them with tools to help them design scenarios so they can see what the future might look like. My experience with processes like Envision Utah is that is that
when you provide people with good information and tools, they make great choices. And then they’re on board with you to implement and see those choices through to action.”

Some of the discussion on the first day of the two-day conference centered on the boom of wind development and the growing concern about its impacts on public and private lands, on wildlife habitat and on land
uses like grazing and hunting.

The Governor said the values study indicated that the public strongly favors wind energy while state leaders feel less positive about it as they begin to confront the challenges it brings to the state.

Audio clip: 060909 BW3 Governor3.mp3
Text of audio clip:
“On the wind energy question, which I thought was fascinating, it comports exactly with what I hear around the state. People think wind energy is a great thing, unless you’re one of the county commissioners who have dealt with it. It’s a very interesting thing in the state, because the question comes down to, are we going to do it right?”

The Governor challenged residents to voice their concerns about the state’s growth at the local level where many of the key decisions are made in Wyoming.

Audio clip: 060909 BW3 Governor4.mp3
Text of audio clip:
“If you believe that you and I, just as people, are the ones most able to handle the problems confronting the state and to create what we want for ourselves and the next generation, you have to act on that belief. The possession of a belief by itself is not leadership; it’s the action on that belief. And leadership is not just the responsibility of a few – it’s the responsibility of everyone in this room and everyone in this state, because you will exercise that leadership and
will determine what the state will be.”

Tomorrow’s agenda is available at www.buildingwyoming.com.

To view the webcast, during tomorrow’s discussion, open Internet Explorer and visit:http://tcs.video.k12.wy.us.

At the top left, click on “view conferences,” and select the “live” option. Then find the Building the Wyoming We Want Conference and click “play” to the far right.

The Building the Wyoming We Want initiative is also on Facebook and Twitter: search Building Wyoming.

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