No Place for Industrial Development

Gary Amerine and Dustin Child are Daniel-based outfitters, whose livelihood depends on the Wyoming Range’s scenery and habitat. Photo by Steff Kessler

In recent years, the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management have begun to consider proposals by energy companies to issue new leases and drill in the Wyoming Range. Tens of thousands of acres of new leases have been auctioned over the objections of Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Citizens Protecting the Wyoming Range and others. “Some places were meant to be pristine,” says outfitter Dan Smitherman. “Nothing good for western Wyoming will come from drilling the Wyoming Range.”

Sublette County, which produces nearly $5 billion in natural gas a year from the Upper Green River Valley, is already doing its fair share to supply the nation’s energy needs. But today, even as legislation makes it way through Congress to protect unleased portions of the Range, the gates to these mountains are being kicked open and we may soon see new roads, pipelines and drill rigs in some of our favorite places up Horse and Cottonwood creeks.

Increased oil and gas development in the Wyoming Range conflicts with balance and sustainability. Multiple use will be replaced with a single, dominant use—oil and gas development, which has proven incapable of co-existing with other uses. Many of us work in the oil and gas fields—we know there is a place for energy development on our public lands; however, the Wyoming Range is not the appropriate place.     —Citizens Protecting the Wyoming Range, leasing protest letter

Plans are already underway to develop 136 gas wells in the Upper Hoback. The BLM has “unitized” 20,000 acres of federal mineral estate beneath both national forest and private land (Hoback Ranches) in northern reaches of the range, thereby preventing old dormant leases from expiring.

Existing gas fields in the southern part of the range are seeing renewed interest from industry, with proposals to expand development in places like Riley Ridge. And a leasing moratorium on other parts of the Bridger-Teton National Forest is being re-evaluated as part of the Forest Plan revision process now underway. Now is the time for concerned citizens to get involved if they want to prevent a public outdoor playground from being converted into a private industrial zone.

Enough is enough.