[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO NIELS HANSEN

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, at Wyoming's State Fair, I will have the 
honor of inducting Niels Hansen into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of 
Fame.
  Forty-eight percent of Wyoming's 97,100 square miles are managed by 
the Federal Government. Often, a Wyoming ranch will consist of a 
checkerboard of public and private lands. Running a profitable ranch, 
while negotiating various Federal and State regulations, is a 
challenge. However, Niels Hansen has done just that operating the PH 
Livestock Company. Niels is known as the public lands ranching leader 
of Wyoming. He has dedicated himself to building relationships with 
Federal land managers. He creates partnerships and opens lines of 
communication with fellow ranchers and government agencies. According 
to my friend, Wyoming Stock Growers Association vice president Jim 
Magana, Niels is highly recognized for his relentless efforts to 
maintain sustainable public land ranching.
  Niels' efforts not only benefit his four-generation Wyoming ranch, he 
is also an asset to agriculturalists across Wyoming. He has worked 
closely with the Bureau of Land Management's, BLM, field office range 
staff and has been a State leader on agreements in conjunction with the 
BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the Wyoming Game and Fish 
Department, and the Wyoming State Grazing Board. Realizing that energy 
is the backbone of Wyoming's economy, Neils has brought oil and gas 
developers to the table.
  Anna Helm, Niels' sister and ranch partner, said, ``Many ranchers 
have come to depend upon his insightful wisdom, understanding of the 
issues and willing leadership to help them through difficult times of 
their own.''
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Niels Hansen, the 
2011 inductee into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Wyoming 
lands--both public and private--are better because of his service.

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