Sen. Malcolm Wallop, Wyoming’s senior Republican
senator, has decided to bow out of politics after serving for 18
years in the U.S. Senate. A major player in federal water and
energy policy, Wallop had considered a run for Wyoming governor,
but decided instead that his “political Energizer bunny” had run
out. He will return to his ranch near Big Horn, Wyo. Wallop, 61,
first entered the Senate with the support of many Wyoming
environmentalists but later was considered a foe of most mainstream
environmental groups. He led Senate battles against grazing reform
and has recently accused the Clinton administration of waging a
“war on the West.” Once he leaves the Senate, Wallop said, he may
work to create a private Foundation for the West that would defend
Western traditions much as the Sierra Club defends spotted owls. He
said, “Some of us in the West feel like we’re entitled to be called
spotted owls and probably are more endangered than they are.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wallop bows out.
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