The Wyoming Range IS Wyoming. Let's keep it that way.
Public Meeting about New Drilling in the Wyoming Range
A public informational meeting about a proposal to drill 136 wells in the Wyoming Range is scheduled for Wednesday, September 8th in Rock Springs at the White Mountain Library. This event is designed for hunters and others who recreate in the area. Despite passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, parts of the Wyoming Range remain open for development and a full-field drilling project is on track for the Noble Basin/South Rim area.
There will be an Open House with refreshments starting at 5:30 pm and a presentation at 7 pm. Come learn more about the project and what you can do.
For more information contact Dan Smitherman at 307-734-7500.
It doesn't get any more "Wyoming" than this: wild rugged mountains towering over sagebrush plains, blue ribbon trout streams, world-class hunting lands, crystalline alpine lakes, and forests and meadows stretching as far as the eye can see.
The Wyoming Range exemplifies everything we cherish about our state. But if Texas-based oil and gas company Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) has its way, 136 natural gas wells will soon scar one of the most pristine places in the Wyoming Range - replacing clean water, clean air, prized hunting grounds and exceptional recreation opportunities with drilling rigs, compressor stations, roads, pollution and constant noise.
What kind of company would drill in one of Wyoming's most prized hunting and fishing spots? Just ask residents of Santa Barbara, CA. In 2009, the California State Lands Commission cited lack of transparency, safety issues and unenforceability in their decision to reject PXP's request to drill 17 new oil wells in state tidelands off Santa Barbara's coastline.
Hold on! I thought the Wyoming Range was protected by law from oil and gas drilling?!
In '09, Congress passed the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which protects the Wyoming Range from new oil and gas leasing, but upholds drilling capabilities of the few existing leaseholders, like PXP. Learn more about the Hoback threat and help protect this Wyoming treasure.
Help us save the Hoback!
By providing your name/email address, we can keep you updated on the Hoback Basin.
We'll let you know when it's time to act on the issue and whom to contact.
PXP's response to the decision?
"I'm sure the sky could fall in [too]," said Steven Rusch, PXP's vice president of environmental, health, safety and government affairs.
Rusch went on to call the Land Commission's concerns "hypothetical speculation" and "far-fetched."
But as we tragically learned in the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, energy production carries risks to people, wildlife and the environment that are anything but hypothetical or far-fetched.