CHEYENNE -- The major legacy of Cliff Hansen's political career was his success in boosting the state's share of federal mineral royalties to 50 percent.

The public-land states like Wyoming had been receiving 37.5 percent of royalties paid for minerals produced on federal land within their borders.

Hansen, who died Tuesday night at his home in Teton County at age 97, was proud of that law, which brought millions and millions of additional dollars to Wyoming over the past 40-odd years.

Phil Roberts, a University of Wyoming history professor, said that although Hansen also served as governor, it was his work in the U.S. Senate that stood out.

The state was in kind of a lull in mineral activity and depended on federal largesse, Roberts said Wednesday.

In the Senate, Hansen worked across the aisle with Wyoming's Democratic Sen. Gale McGee.

He was effective in "bringing home the federal bacon to Wyoming in a bipartisan way," Roberts said.

Federal Judge Clarence Brimmer said Hansen was his mentor and, as Wyoming's senior senator, submitted his name to President Gerald Ford for the Wyoming federal court seat.

"He was a liberal Republican," Brimmer said, referring to Hansen's success in getting federal dollars for Wyoming. "His actions in the Senate were consistent with fine conservative government, but he also met the demands of the people of the state."

In addition, Hansen's ranches had conservation easements at the time of his of death, Brimmer said.

Hansen favored preservation of open spaces in the West.

Former Sen. John Turner, a Teton County rancher and natural resource expert, said Hansen was a bona fide Wyoming product.

"He was a cowboy. He believed in hard work," Turner said.

Hansen also was a man of humor and a good ranching neighbor. Once when the Turners were short of pasture because of a change in grazing permits, Hansen was the first to call and offer some of his own pasture for the Turner cattle.

"We didn't always agree on things, but he was always a man of honor," Turner said.

Former state Sen. Tom Stroock of Casper said one of Hansen's engaging qualities was his willingness to admit he was wrong.

"Some people in our profession never admit there is anything wrong," Stroock said.

To get the change in federal mineral royalties, Hansen aligned himself with the people who were trying to increase Alaska's share of the money and tacked the 50 percent rate onto their bill, Stroock said.

A Republican, Hansen was elected governor in 1962 and served one term. He ran for the Senate in 1966 and defeated Democrat Teno Roncalio. He was re-elected in 1972 but quit in 1978 because of his health.

At the time he stepped down, he said the weather in Washington, D.C., was bad for his asthma.

Stroock said a major controversial issue when Hansen was governor was the right-to-work bill, which was strongly opposed by Democrats and labor unions.

"It was a huge fight," Stroock said. "Cliff just stood his ground" in favor of the bill.

Hansen ordered National Guard troops to be stationed in the basement of the Capitol Building during the legislative debate on the right-to-work law.

"He was afraid those who opposed him would rush the Capitol," Stroock said.

They didn't, and the Legislature passed the bill making Wyoming a right-to-work state.

Hansen, who believed the bill would "restore full freedom of choice to the working men and women of Wyoming," signed it into law.

According to a 1999 article by Victoria Murphy, "Wyoming: a 20th Century History of its Citizens, Business and Institutions," Hansen focused on two central themes -- increased economic activity and states' rights -- during his tenure as governor.

During his years in the U.S. Senate, Hansen, "always responsive to the needs of his constituents, established a unique pilot program of private partnership to save the infrastructure of Rock Springs which was in danger of collapsing due to the caving in of abandoned coal mines," the article said.

The same problem persists today in Rock Springs.

Roberts said James Watt told him years ago that Hansen was President Ronald Reagan's first choice as Interior Department secretary. Hansen didn't want the job.

Watt eventually got the Cabinet position.

The late Gov. Stan Hathaway served briefly and unhappily in that position during the Ford administration.

"Probably Cliff Hansen had the good sense it was a pretty tough job for a Wyomingite and he was more effective for the state in the Senate," Roberts said.

A bronze statue of a calf sits on the lawn in front of the Capitol Building. It was dedicated to Hansen by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association in a 2005 ceremony.

During the dedication, Hansen spoke of the nature of people in Teton County.

Although then-Vice President Dick Cheney has a home there, "we are so stubborn he couldn't even carry his own precinct," Hansen said.

Writing of Hansen's first campaign -- for governor in 1962 -- the late historian T.A. Larson said the Republican rancher was unaffected, modest, willing to learn and had a generally engaging personality.

"His public utterances assayed less than the customary amount of campaign claptrap," Larson wrote.

Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at 307-632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com