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...

The Sage Grouse

$Thumbnail image for What is all this frackin’ nonsense?$

What is all this frackin’ nonsense?

by The Sage Grouse May 15, 2012

The big controversy about fracking does not revolve around negligent practices once the fluid is sucked out of the well and sent to disposal. The controversy which worries so many …

Read the full article…

Your Choice: Art or Propaganda?

by The Sage Grouse April 24, 2012

Earlier this year the legislature suggested that the pending renovation of Half Acre gym at UW include murals glorifying the mineral industries. The Sage Grouse suggests searching “all facets of …

Read the full article…

Synfuels Plants

by The Sage Grouse April 17, 2012

The Sage Grouse ponders the feasibility of coal-to-gas plants in Wyoming, wondering whether they’re worth the trouble.

Read the full article…

What Is Insurance?

by The Sage Grouse April 10, 2012

The basic principle of casualty and liability insurance is sound: make sure that every business venture has a pool of money to cover losses suffered by the insured (casualty …

Read the full article…

The Galapagos Islands, unique because they were formed by volcanic eruptions in the middle of thePacific Ocean where two tectonic plates interact along a restive “seam,” periodically erupted over millions …

Read the full article…

Taxes and Fairness

by The Sage Grouse March 20, 2012

“The Democratic idea of increasing capital gains taxes so that rich people pay as much, theoretically, percentage-wise, as working people, gets a lot of press and makes little sense.”

Read the full article…

Hot Flash Rush

by The Sage Grouse March 13, 2012

Hey Rush: don’t I remember you had a hydrocodone dependence problem? I bet the pills and the rehab, unsuccessful, were covered by health insurance. And who paid for YOUR contraception …

Read the full article…

A debate about oil field social responsibility

by The Sage Grouse March 6, 2012

A debate about oil field social responsibility

Hey fellow travelers:
How often does a conversation with one of your oldest friends include these invectives: “You are a *&%$$$# socialist,” followed by “What!! …

Read the full article…

Wyoming lays groundwork for what? Secession?

by The Sage Grouse February 28, 2012

The sponsors of Wyoming’s “doomsday bill” — many who enthusiastically decry the federal government — have unintentionally legitimized their favorite target.

Read the full article…

Angry Birds

by The Sage Grouse February 21, 2012

By the time The Sage Grouse finally relented to the societal norm of smart phones, he discovered the cell towers are jammed with people wasting capacity and time with games.

Read the full article…

Mad as Hell?

by The Sage Grouse February 14, 2012

Mad as Hell?
Remember the movie “Network”? Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch: “I’m Mad as Hell and I’m Not Going to Take it Any More.”
The housing collapse, Fannie Mae collapse, AIG …

Read the full article…

Occupy Fever: Running Amuck

by The Sage Grouse February 7, 2012

The Sage Grouse has been all over the Tea Party for bad manners, incivility and surrender of judgment to rampant emotion. But now, leftists, it is time to take your …

Read the full article…

Winter in the Tropics

by The Sage Grouse January 31, 2012

The Sage Grouse unpacks a few photos from his recent trek to the Galapagos Islands, where it wasn’t just the tortoise, iguana and birds that left an impression.

Read the full article…

Georgia June

by The Sage Grouse January 24, 2012

Ladies and Germs, I have an announcement: The Sage Grouse is not always a grouch. Can you fathom the possibility that something could turn a Grouse into a warm mushy …

Read the full article…

Societal Meltdown

by The Sage Grouse January 17, 2012

Societal Meltdown
Remember the shockingly sudden loss of civility during the debate over reform of what everyone knows is a failed health care system; loud, rude shouting anti-government maniacs appeared at …

Read the full article…

Chuck Townsend

by The Sage Grouse January 10, 2012

Chuck Townsend was one of my favorite people. I thought about that a lot at his funeral on January 2. Chuck worked his ass off in the family businesses, devotedly …

Read the full article…

Huntsman-Barrasso 2012?

by The Sage Grouse January 3, 2012

The Sage Grouse revels in the time-honored tradition of speculating about the final GOP ticket.

Read the full article…

Boehner let the Tea Party bare its rear

by The Sage Grouse December 27, 2011

John Boehner, according to The Sage Grouse, has somehow saved face in the last-minute deal to get the extension, leaving folks like Eric Cantor baring their true intentions before a …

Read the full article…

Newt Attacks the Courts

by The Sage Grouse December 20, 2011

The Sage Grouse reacts to recent comments by GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich about going after “activist judges.”

Read the full article…

The Problem With Elections is Re-Election

by The Sage Grouse December 13, 2011

The Sage Grouse contemplates how current term limits have fallen victim to extended campaign seasons, essentially neutering the opportunity for real policy work.

Read the full article…

Abel lost long ago, Cain loses now

by The Sage Grouse December 6, 2011

Abel lost long ago, Cain loses now

Folks, we in Wyoming were maybe not that far from the Great Fall, the exit from the Garden of Eden, preceding or during the …

Read the full article…

Support WyoFile’s successful mission

by The Sage Grouse November 22, 2011

The Sage Grouse makes an important pitch to readers: consider supporting WyoFile and its mission of in-depth reporting on Wyoming’s people, places and policy.

Read the full article…

Gaffes

by The Sage Grouse November 15, 2011

The Sage Grouse returns with a commentary on recent gaffes by those seeking to be the next President of the United States, and by our current president.

Read the full article…

Carbon Shock

by The Sage Grouse October 25, 2011

The Sage Grouse challenges readers to prove him wrong on what he surmises may be futile efforts to capture and sequester carbon dioxide.

Read the full article…

I’m With Stupid

by The Sage Grouse October 18, 2011

The GPS in my Mazda CX-9 shows a lot of roads and streets. In an urban setting, it probably works beautifully with the voice prompting feature. It ain’t so good …

Read the full article…

Civil Discourse

by The Sage Grouse October 11, 2011

What happens when persistent rain leaves two hunting buddies stranded inside with nothing to do but talk and drink? When one an oil and gas attorney and the other a …

Read the full article…

Local Control

by The Sage Grouse October 4, 2011

The authority of the federal government can be a pain sometimes, but it isn’t necessarily better when a school board, city or county is running the show…

Read the full article…

BugShot (part 2)

by The Sage Grouse September 27, 2011

After attending the BugShot workshop, your humble neophyte is working on photographs of insects and spiders at ranges of 1/2 to 2 inches…

Read the full article…

Let’s Not Kill All The Lawyers

by The Sage Grouse September 20, 2011

Lawyers are not generally held in high esteem these days. But in many instances they are heroes of personal rights and freedom — at least that’s what The Sage Grouse …

Read the full article…

BugShot (part 1)

by The Sage Grouse September 13, 2011

I just spent three exhilarating days at the Shaw Nature Reserve near St. Louis, Missouri, the place where everyone who made the West into a European-culture dominated landscape started out. …

Read the full article…

A Real Wyoming Legend

by The Sage Grouse September 6, 2011

John Winchester lived in an isolated location near Buffalo, Wyoming. He either was a bachelor who hired females to keep house or was a serial consumer of mail-order brides, I …

Read the full article…

History: Condemned Over and Over

by The Sage Grouse August 30, 2011

I heard in high school that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. I thought that this meant that if we did not study Greek …

Read the full article…

Chicken-Ducking Topics

by The Sage Grouse August 23, 2011

Alert readers have failed to note or comment that The Sage Grouse has not (perhaps for good reason) weighed in on the following controversial topics…

Read the full article…

Aliens and Cowboys

by The Sage Grouse August 16, 2011

We make up movies showing aliens as crafty, cunning or just plain brutal invaders, with plots always reaching a nasty, evidently inevitable, horrifying moment when all human life is about …

Read the full article…

This May Be The Last Time

by The Sage Grouse August 2, 2011

The tea party folks are acting a bit like lemmings, friends. But, what’s a mere cliff in the course of life’s journeys?

The debt ceiling increase was predestined, even required, by …

Read the full article…

Unsung Heroes of Compassion

by The Sage Grouse July 26, 2011

In the course of the flight she mentioned that there was only one surgeon in eastern Bhutan, Lotay Tshering, who was constantly on the road from village to village. …

Read the full article…

Flew the looking-glass

by The Sage Grouse July 22, 2011

Some websites have ideas on how to prevent birds striking your windows. I know there’s no perfect answer to this problem, and won’t pretend it is entirely preventable, but there …

Read the full article…

Makin’ Bacon

by The Sage Grouse July 19, 2011

Makin’ Bacon
In the midst of historic mineral revenues and state reserve accounts, Governor Mead is celebrating a huge infusion of federal dollars for the Greater Sage-grouse and is asking for …

Read the full article…

Horse Shibboleth

by The Sage Grouse July 12, 2011

My last piece on wild horses generated a lot of blow-back, including a comment (not published) by a reader who wished upon me certain death, preferably a slow death. That, …

Read the full article…

Roads and Views: I got mine, why should I give you one?

by The Sage Grouse June 21, 2011

Here comes New Neighbor, who hired a surveyor to prove that the front third of our parking lot and the back third of the two outhouses are on his land. …

Read the full article…

Ban Lead Hunting Ammo: We Are Not Survivalists Any More

by The Sage Grouse June 14, 2011

The controversies over curtailing use of lead shot for bird hunting pale in contrast to the latest debate about banning use of lead ammunition for all hunting. At first blush, …

Read the full article…

Sen. Barrasso: Grandma or The Big Bad Wolf?

by The Sage Grouse June 7, 2011

Sen. Barrasso: Grandma or The Big Bad Wolf?
I got a fund-raising letter from John Barrasso, boasting that he is now regarded as the “most conservative member of the U.S. Senate.” …

Read the full article…

Insurance and Personal Responsibility

by The Sage Grouse May 31, 2011

If only the sick buy health insurance coverage, no one can afford it. Insurance is by definition a sharing of risk. All responsible individuals should participate, and if they will …

Read the full article…

Guns Again: No License, Registration or Insurance Needed

by The Sage Grouse May 24, 2011

Instead of abolishing reasonable requirements, shouldn’t we instead require basic safety training and a background check for buyers of firearms? Yes, there are outlaws who will evade these requirements, just …

Read the full article…

Leaving The South for Wyoming

by The Sage Grouse May 17, 2011

Leaving The South for Wyoming
In January 1961, the entire student body at my Indianola, Miss., grade school assembled in the gym to watch John F. Kennedy’s inauguration on a black-and-white …

Read the full article…

Of Birds and Blades

by The Sage Grouse May 10, 2011

Since many communication towers are erected by public agencies, often for public safety purposes, the public should push such agencies to implement strategies to build self-standing towers instead of guyed …

Read the full article…

Energy Quandaries

by The Sage Grouse May 3, 2011

The legislature should repeal the exemption of wind energy from the right to use eminent domain and do whatever is needed to provide certainty in the market place, so that …

Read the full article…

A Conversation With Rod Blagojevich: Big Hair

by The Sage Grouse April 26, 2011

Politics generate subjects a lot more fun than almost anything else. After a boring hiatus politics is heating up again. A recent morning:

The Sage Grouse rolls cursing out of bed, …

Read the full article…

A Brief History of Cars: A Personal Perspective

by The Sage Grouse April 19, 2011

I, sans motor vehicle, stuck out my thumb and caught a ride with some Harley enthusiasts to Rock Springs, whereupon a gigantic snowstorm shut down all forms of travel (except …

Read the full article…

← Previous Entries