Wyoming

The wind blows in Wyoming. So much so that over much of its southern acreage, trees live in a constant state of sideways, bowing to the prevailing forces. Tumbleweed bounces through prairie sagebrush. The earth's guts, buttes, and sawtooth ridgelines live outside its skin-exposed. There are rivers. And there are generally few roads and people between them.

An unusual alliance is taking shape in Wyoming and other Western states. Politically conservative members of pro-hunting and fishing groups, like Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, are partnering with the National Wildlife Federation and others to try to fend off what they see as anti-sporting legislation.

A Colorado developer has proposed a pipeline project that will take billions of gallons of water out of the Green River system per year. Yes I meant to type BILLIONS! This is bad news if you are an angler, hunter, river runner, environmentalist etc… Just the thought that this type of pipeline COULD happen makes me sick. Apparently the Front Range needs this water worse than the Basin the Green has drained into since the beginning of time.

After nearly 50 years of being separated by a hydrology wier, fisheries
on the East Fork of the Encampment River will be reconnected by the end
of this week.

Accessing Yellowstone National Park by trail over Jones Creek Pass could become easier thanks to $37,000 in funding and a unique agreement between the Forest Service, the Montana Conservation Corps and the Shoshone Backcountry Horsemen.

The project, which looks to maintain and repair more than 11 miles of trail on the mountain pass into Yellowstone, was one of 19 jobs recommended by the Resource Advisory Committee and approved by the Shoshone National Forest.

Citing a desire to better study the issue and under increasing pressure from industry and pro-energy elected officials, Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) Supervisor Jacque Buchanan withdrew the Record of Decision she previously issued in January that would have prevented development on 44,720 acres of the Wyoming Range in Sublette County.

The decision potentially opens the door for drilling on about 70 square miles of the Wyoming Range. In a release announcing her decision to revisit the issue, Buchanan said more study was needed before a final decision could be made.

In a win for oil and gas companies Thursday, a Bridger-Teton National Forest official reversed her January decision to withdraw drilling leases on 44,720 acres in the Wyoming Range, opening the possibility the leases will eventually be issued.

Forest Supervisor Jacque Buchanan’s Jan. 25 decision to block oil and gas development on the range was appealed by four industry groups, which said the decision to pull the acreage from leasing was inconsistent with several federal laws.

In a win for oil and gas companies Thursday, a Bridger-Teton National Forest official reversed her January decision to withdraw drilling leases on 44,720 acres in the Wyoming Range, opening the possibility the leases will eventually be issued.