The Natrona County Commission has chosen a Wyoming assistant attorney general to do its legal work on everything from road access to zoning.

Eric K. Nelson, an attorney with the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, will begin his new job as Natrona County attorney on April 23.

"I get to deal with a broad spectrum of issues," Nelson said Monday. "I like government work."

Nelson will replace Bill Harden, who resigned in early February to return to private law practice.

The commission chose Nelson last week over nine other applicants for the job, which pays $72,500, said Commission Chairman Jon Campbell.

"His background was extremely strong for the strengths we were looking for," Campbell said.

That included Nelson's work with the attorney general's office and zoning experience while working for the city.

Nelson, 35, grew up in Indiana, earned a bachelor's degree from Wabash College there, and earned his law degree at Indiana University at Bloomington.

He worked at a private firm in Indianapolis before he and his wife, Dr. Vera Nelson, a nephrologist, decided to change scenery, he said. "We wanted to move West."

Nelson first worked for the city of Casper mostly to prosecute misdemeanor crimes, he said.

Two years later, he went to work as a senior assistant attorney general for the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, he said.

After three and a half years, Nelson saw the opportunity for a step up to more responsibility, he said.

As county attorney, he will deal with access and easement issues, planning and zoning, administrative and procedural matters, employment concerns with county employees, and involuntary commitments, he said.

Unlike many other county attorneys in Wyoming, he will not prosecute crimes, he said.

That job belongs to the 7th District Attorney's office, which has its offices in the Natrona County Courthouse but receives funding from the state.

When he moves downtown from the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission building on the former Amoco refinery site, Nelson said he will be briefed on current legal matters, he said. "I'll be getting in there and taking stock."

Meanwhile, he will assess the county's needs to determine whether to hire a deputy county attorney. Former Deputy County Attorney Kim Corey resigned in February to work for the Wyoming public defender's office.

Campbell said that decision will coincide with the county setting its budget for the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Reporter Tom Morton can be reached at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@casperstartribune.net.