It would be easy to criticize the Western States Energy and Environment Symposium as a questionable use of taxpayer money based upon the lack of response from national leaders in those fields to invitations to participate in the gathering.

In fact, organizers of the event have turned to a motivational speaker named Joe Malarkey -- honest, that's his name -- to give a keynote address, after Assistant Energy Secretary Catherine Zoi canceled. Previously declining invitations were Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

But it's not the lack of luminaries on the guest list that raises the biggest questions about the symposium, which begins today and runs through Tuesday in Teton Village. It's the apparent absence of a clear, concrete benefit to Wyoming for the $400,000 the state is paying to stage the gathering that causes the most concern.

The symposium is a result of action by the 2009 Wyoming Legislature, which passed a bill appropriating money for the event and establishing a committee to organize it. The only objective mentioned in the legislation was for the conference to include "work to establish a cooperative agreement among the participants to develop a high level cost/benefit economic analysis assessing the challenges of energy development, production, marketing, use and environmental protection within the western states."

Topics of discussion, according to the bill, are renewable energy, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, carbon management, air quality, and demands and costs of energy.

There's no question that Wyoming has a huge stake in those issues. But it's not clear how paying for officials from 14 states to come to Jackson Hole for a meeting -- to essentially set the stage for a study of broad energy issues -- will further the state's interests.

Certainly, there's no harm in getting together and talking about energy and environmental policy. Much of the symposium's agenda is focused on seeking common ground and developing a coordinated regional approach to energy. But for $400,000, Wyoming taxpayers have a right to expect specific, tangible outcomes that further the state's interests.

The fact of the matter is that Wyoming's interests in many ways differ from those of its neighbors. For example, while it would be beneficial to our state to build more electrical transmission lines across Utah to send Wyoming power to California, how would Utah benefit? It's probably unreasonable to expect the states to reach agreement on their own. That's why federal leadership is so important on such issues -- a point Gov. Dave Freudenthal has made repeatedly.

The Democratic governor is a participant in the symposium -- in spite of the fact that when he in March signed the bill calling for the event, he quipped that it was a campaign contribution for House Speaker Colin Simpson, a possible candidate for the GOP nomination for governor in 2010.

It's good to see that Simpson and other organizers involved Freudenthal, a recognized leader on energy and environmental issues in the region. In fact, the list of participants includes a number of key players on energy and the environment from the private and public sectors. Their discussions should be interesting, and perhaps they'll shed new light on the important issues related to the role of Wyoming and the West in helping meet the nation's energy needs. For that reason, the Star-Tribune is sending a reporter to cover the event.

But for $400,000, the public deserves more than interesting discussions.