Executive Director's Notebook: Governors, WGA getting the public's attention

By Jim Ogsbury

A recent edition of the Kiplinger Letter observed that Western Governors are exercising “growing clout” with respect to the construction of federal regulations. “They’re shaping rules on national forests, national park use and fracking,” notes the article.

Western Governors are indeed exercising greater influence in the nation’s capital, and the Western Governors’ Association is poised to build on this momentum to further establish this distinguished group as a bipartisan regional force in Washington, D.C.

WGA itself is capturing a greater share of the public’s and opinion leaders’ attention. One objective measure of this development is the recent surge in visits to the WGA website. There were more than 13,500 unique visitors to the site in May, the largest number ever recorded by WGA and the most this year by 61%. The 161,000 page views in May was the year’s largest by nearly 30%.

One factor accounting for this spike in web visits is the escalation of WGA activity on Capitol Hill and in response to executive branch initiatives. During the past several weeks, WGA has:

Successfully promoted key policy positions of Western Governors with respect to reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act by the United States Senate. 

Communicated to Congress support for reauthorization of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS);

Testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources regarding the insidious problem of invasive species.

Engaged with the Office of Management and Budget and the Departments of Interior and Agriculture to express alarm at, and question the legality of, the sequester of mineral leasing royalties and Secure Rural Schools payments owed to the states by the federal government;

Urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to more effectively deploy private industry in forest management and wildfire risk reduction. 

Promoted streamlined permit and license processes for the development of small hydropower projects in the West.

Appeared before Congress to urge that federal land managers be directed to use state fish and wildlife data and analysis.

I hope to see you at our annual meeting next week in Park City, where we will elaborate on the critical role that Western Governors are playing in the development of federal and regional policy.

Jim Ogsbury is the Executive Director of the Western Governors’ Association. Contact him at 303-623-9378 or at   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.