• Debate rages over the impact of federal regulations on drilling, jobs

  

  A day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a major new natural gas drilling project in Utah, a new study concludes that federal regulations have delayed 22 major drilling projects representing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact... Read the full article...

  

• EPA gives heavily drilled Wyoming area three years to improve

  

  U.S. EPA has determined that southwest Wyoming's Upper Green River Basin no longer meets federal ground-level ozone pollution standards, a conclusion that could significantly affect two of the nation's largest oil and natural gas fields... Read the full article...

  

• Surface damage from Niobrara seismic work results in citations

  

  Seismic crews working in the Niobrara shale oil play caused serious rutting and other surface damage earlier this year on 10 different ranch properties in southeast Wyoming, resulting in several state-issued citations for the operator and the seismic contractor... Read the full article...

  

• Deer-ly Departed: Revelation of mule deer ‘stop-over’ behavior may alter drilling plans in Bridger Teton Forest

  

  Plans to introduce 136 natural gas wells into the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields in the Wyoming Range. But the project has drawn objection from the conservation community, who've been fueled by a new research report detailing mule deer behavior... Read the full article...

  

• The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920: The law that changed Wyoming’s economic destiny

  

  While energy development is arguably central to Wyoming's economy, it wasn't always this way. In the beginning of the 20th century, agriculture was king in Wyoming, until a historical Congressional vote in 1920... Read the full article...

  

• Rare Stake: Can Wyoming help serve world’s hunger for rare earth minerals?

  

  A newly opened mine near the city of Sundance raises the prospect of a new industry for Wyoming. The project's owners believe they'll have the infrastructure to compete with China's industry, which has a near monopoly on the market... Read the full article...

  

Bill Sniffin