We are honored to congratulate Karen Budd-Falen for being named our Protect The Harvest Friend of the Land for July 2024. Along with her husband, Frank Falen, Karen is the owner of the Budd-Falen Law Offices, L.L.C. in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Throughout her career, Karen has passionately represented private property owners, ranching and farming organizations, and local governments. Her work has been instrumental in protecting Constitutionally guaranteed property rights and supporting grazing and multiple use on federal/public lands. Karen’s dedication also extends to exposing the misuse of the legal system by radical environmental groups through attorney fee-shifting statutes.
Karen’s commitment to her state and community is evident in her long-standing career, with only brief periods spent away from Wyoming. She served for three years in the Reagan Administration at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., where she was a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. She later worked as a law clerk to the Assistant Solicitor for Water and Power. In 1987, Karen spent two years as an attorney at the Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver, Colorado, a conservative public interest legal foundation. More recently, she served in the Trump Administration as Deputy Solicitor for Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior. In this role, she was the lead attorney in revising the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA), appealing wetland maps on the National Wildlife Refuge System, and representing the Interior in revising the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Karen has contributed extensively to legal scholarship, with notable publications including “The Right to Graze Livestock on the Federal Lands: The Historical Development of Western Grazing Rights” in the Idaho Law Review (Spring, 1994), and “Protecting Community Stability and Local Economies: Opportunities for County Government Influence in Federal Decision and Policy Making Processes” at Whitman College (1996). Her editorial work on “Counterpoint: Opportunities Lost and Opportunities Gained: Separating Truth from Myth in the Western Ranching Debate” in the Lewis and Clark Law School Environmental Law Journal (2006) also stands out.
Karen’s achievements have also earned her national recognition. She was featured in Newsweek Magazine’s “Who’s Who: 20 for the Future” for her work on property rights and agricultural issues (September 30, 1991). Her accolades include Wyoming’s Outstanding Ag Citizen in 2001, the “Always There Helping” award from the New Mexico Stock Growers Association in 2003, the “Bud’s Contract” award from the New Mexico Public Lands Council in 2006, and the Individual of the Year award from the Arizona/New Mexico Coalition of Counties for Stable Economic Growth in 2011.
Karen has also been a dedicated advocate in legislative matters, presenting testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives on various committees, including the Subcommittee on Forest Health, the Committee on Resources, and the Full Committee on Natural Resources. She has also testified before committees of the Wyoming Legislature.
In 2015, Karen was appointed by Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and confirmed by the Senate to serve a four-year term as Commissioner on the Wyoming Water Development Commission. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Wyoming Natural Resources Foundation from 2014 to 2019. Currently, Karen is a member of the Western Ag Industry Advisory Committee for the National Agricultural Law Center and serves on the Board of Directors for the Wyoming Liberty Group.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Karen is deeply involved in her community. She volunteers actively for Future Farmers of America (FFA), coaching the Agricultural Issues team for high schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Karen grew up as a fifth-generation rancher on her family’s ranch in Big Piney, Wyoming, a property she still co-owns with her sister. Karen and Frank also own and reside on a ranch north of Cheyenne. She is an alumna of the University of Wyoming, where she earned her undergraduate and law degrees. Karen and Frank have two children, Isaac and Sarah, and a grandson, Wesley.
Karen Budd-Falen’s lifelong dedication to property rights, agriculture, and community advocacy perfectly embodies the spirit of the Friend of the Land award. We extend our deepest gratitude to Karen for her remarkable contributions, which continue to inspire and sustain our agricultural heritage.
