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WHAT IS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE?

Critical infrastructure is any asset that, if incapacitated, would have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security, or public health. Examples include gas and oil pipelines, electrical power grids, military installations, telecommunications facilities, and public transportation systems.

WHY SHOULD WYOMINGIANS CARE ABOUT CCP LAND OWNERSHIP?

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) acquisition of land is accelerating across the U.S. Strategic land near military bases enables surveillance and sabotage, and land near critical infrastructure exposes vulnerable sites like power, natural gas, petroleum, and water treatment facilities to physical assault. In 2023, a CCP spy balloon traversed the entire continental United States, including over our most sensitive military bases. If left open to CCP control, our real property provides nearly limitless platforms for “permanent spy balloons.” According to U.S. Air Force Major Jeremy Fox, land near military bases may be used for espionage, including intercepting military communications between unmanned air systems and space-based assets.

WHAT MILITARY BASES AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE EXIST IN WYOMING?

Wyoming houses several crucial military installations. F.E. Warren Air Force Base (FEWAFB) holds the distinction as the nation's oldest continuously active Air Force installation, with it being active since 1867. As one of only three strategic missile bases in the United States, FEWAFB maintains and operates the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The base's strategic importance is further elevated by hosting the Twentieth Air Force, which oversees all U.S. Air Force ICBM operations in the United States.

Wyoming's military presence also includes Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center, a training facility encompassing over 78,000 acres of land and 64 square miles of controlled airspace. The center features multiple training zones and holds the capacity to accommodate an entire brigade of troops. The facilities serve various military branches and agencies, making it a vital hub for joint military training operations.

WYOMING’S SENSITIVE SITES HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMPROMISED

Cheyenne, Wyoming, home of Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, was recently party to a targeted CCP land purchase. A CCP cryptocurrency-mining firm purchased a small parcel of land immediately adjacent to the base in 2022, and owned it through 2024 before the Biden Administration finally took action. Security concerns arose due to the amount of power needed for cryptocurrency mining, and a surge in power consumption could risk destabilizing the electrical grid of the surrounding area, and possibly that of the base.

WHAT CAN WYOMING DO TO PROTECT ITS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE?

Wyoming should ban foreign adversaries from owning or otherwise controlling property within a close radius surrounding a military installation. States should also ensure that all companies with access to critical infrastructure conduct background checks on employees with significant access to that infrastructure. Finally, states should require the flagging of undeclared transactions, allowing officials and residents of the state to notify the attorney general, and ultimately the federal government, of concerning transactions.