After years of negotiations, 62 acres of land was returned to the city of Cheyenne and named the High Plains Arboretum. It opened to the public in 2008.
After years of negotiations, 62 acres of land was returned to the city of Cheyenne and named the High Plains Arboretum. It opened to the public in 2008.
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CHEYENNE — An allocation of $5 million remains in the 2025-26 biennium state budget for Cheyenne’s High Plains Research Station and Arboretum, although a bill designating the location as a state historic site failed introduction in the House last week.
During budget amendments heard in both the Senate and House Monday night, lawmakers debated removing the funding allocation. Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, and Rep. Scott Heiner, R-Green River, asked members of their respective chambers to remove the allocation. Ultimately, the budget amendment to remove funding passed in the Senate and failed in the House.
That means the $5 million allocation will be reviewed by a joint conference committee when budget bills from both chambers are reconciled.
“It is still in the House budget, but not in the Senate budget,” Nick Neylon, deputy director for Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, said Tuesday in an interview with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. A state parks designation was included in House Bill 84, “High Plains Research Station and Arboretum-historic site,” but that bill failed on an introductory vote last week.
“If there is no enabling legislation passed this year, like House Bill 84, and the money is in the budget, then we would hope to come back during the regular session next year and get the enabling legislation passed,” Neylon explained.
Rep. Scott Heiner, R-Green River
In the House, Rep. Heiner said Monday that before taking ownership of, or entering into an agreement to fund repairs at a private site, due diligence must take place. The arboretum, he said, was first formed in 1928, and the state must know its liabilities if it is to become involved.
“You want to find out what kinds of risks, what kinds of liabilities, things might be hidden that you might not be aware of,” Heiner said. “There is a very good possibility there might be some asbestos; is there any soil contamination from herbicides or pesticides? Is there any water contamination? Water contamination takes years and years, and decades, to clean up.
“We need to have a due diligence study of this to make sure we understand the total costs,” Heiner said, asking fellow representatives to delete the funding allocation.
Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, argued for the allocation to stay in the House budget bill.
“As you all know, a week ago … we circulated handouts that show exactly what is involved. It is 870 acres, and we don’t purchase it. It is a lease. This has been evaluated preliminarily by State Parks.”
State involvement, he said, would ensure the site is preserved.
“This is to basically save the trees, to have the opportunity to save an incredible historic site,” Nicholas said. “These trees are all over the state of Wyoming, trees that were germinated and grown (here). It is an incredible part of Wyoming history.”
The biennial costs would include $438,000 in staffing, a $442,000 operating budget and $6.1 million in site improvements. The impact would include preservation of 13 historic structures, interpretation of the impact of the site, continued tree propagation and reforestation programs, educational opportunities and the site would become eligible to become a National Landmark.
Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell
In the Senate, Laursen urged his fellow senators to delete the budget allocation, calling its inclusion “legislating in the budget.” Sen. Dave Kinskey, R-Sheridan, said he favored more research into the project before allocating state funding.
Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston
But Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee toured the site during the interim. The arboretum project, she said, has buy-in from the city of Cheyenne, as well as state agencies.
“I don’t think we see a lot of collaboration on some of our projects, and I thought it was impressive that we had three different entities that were really behind this project,” Schuler said before voting to keep the budget allocation in the Senate’s budget bill. “This arboretum is in disrepair, and we’d hate to lose it. … This could be a really neat place with all the collaboration.”
Jessica Friis, a horticulturist at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens who has written about the High Plains Arboretum, said she is thankful for any support to preserve the site.
“We are just waiting to see what (the budget allocations) mean, but we are very supportive of having the state being involved in the partnership,” Friis said Tuesday in an interview with the WTE. “We are in favor of whatever happens to support the project.”
Cheyenne lawmakers Sen. Anthony Bouchard, Evie Brennan, Lynn Hutchings, and Reps. Ben Hornok and Clarence Styvar voted to remove the budget allocation from their respective chambers.
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Carrie Haderlie is a freelance journalist who covers southeast Wyoming from her home near Saratoga. She has written for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Laramie Boomerang, Wyoming Business Report and several other publications for many years, including covering the Wyoming Legislature.
