Policy

WyoFile delves into the deepest elements of Wyoming’s public policies, uncovering, exposing and explaining the often unseen forces that shape the state’s people, landscape, wildlife, economy and communities.

Thumbnail image for BLM to remove 6,000 horses from range, boost contraception

BLM to remove 6,000 horses from range, boost contraception

by Environment & Energy Daily October 11, 2011

The Interior Department over the next six months plans to remove more than 6,000 horses from federal lands and administer birth control to roughly 2,000 more…

Thumbnail image for Rapidly rising temperatures threaten Yellowstone ecosystem

Rapidly rising temperatures threaten Yellowstone ecosystem

by Environment & Energy Daily October 4, 2011

Temperatures in Yellowstone could rise by as much as 9.7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century if global emissions of greenhouse gases are not restrained, according to a …

Thumbnail image for Judge’s sage grouse ruling could stall BLM plans in Wyo., Idaho

Judge’s sage grouse ruling could stall BLM plans in Wyo., Idaho

by Environment & Energy Daily October 4, 2011

Reprinted with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. Not for republication by Wyoming media.
A federal judge in Idaho this week ruled the Interior Department failed to analyze the cumulative …

Thumbnail image for Two Elk Stimulus: Big paychecks but no new jobs

Two Elk Stimulus: Big paychecks but no new jobs

by Rone Tempest September 27, 2011

Over the past two years, the federal stimulus program paid the owner of a Colorado-based energy company and the company’s Wyoming representative more than $1 million in salaries and benefits …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming stimulus spending draws mixed reviews

Wyoming stimulus spending draws mixed reviews

by Ruffin Prevost September 13, 2011

CODY — With the nation’s unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent amid continuing signs of a faltering economy, President Barack Obama last week proposed a new round of up to …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming governor, industry won’t promise an ozone-free Pinedale

Wyoming governor, industry won’t promise an ozone-free Pinedale

by Dustin Bleizeffer September 13, 2011

Earlier this year, the ozone level in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin spiked beyond Los Angeles’ worst smog day. But neither the governor nor the industry can guarantee enough emissions …

Thumbnail image for Despite regulatory reprieve, Wyoming still has an ozone problem

Despite regulatory reprieve, Wyoming still has an ozone problem

by Dustin Bleizeffer September 6, 2011

President Barack Obama’s decision last week to back off from a more stringent ozone standard is intended to avoid an estimated $90 billion cost to implement…

Thumbnail image for Pathfinder developers hope to offset impacts of energy development

Pathfinder developers hope to offset impacts of energy development

by Gregory Nickerson August 30, 2011

Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy LLC originally proposed to build a giant wind farm on the Pathfinder Ranch near the Oregon Trail in central Wyoming. Instead, the project will be moved …

Thumbnail image for Feds OK Powder River Basin coal leases

Feds OK Powder River Basin coal leases

by Environment & Energy Daily August 23, 2011

The Bureau of Land Management has approved the latest in a string of coal leases in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, signaling strong Obama administration support for Western coal …

Enviro groups sue BLM over Powder River Basin leases

by Environment & Energy Daily August 23, 2011

Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in an effort to stop the mining of roughly 350 million tons of federal coal in Wyoming’s Powder River …

Thumbnail image for Wild Horses: Grazing association sues over Rock Springs herd levels

Wild Horses: Grazing association sues over Rock Springs herd levels

by Environment & Energy Daily August 14, 2011

Reprinted with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. Not for republication by Wyoming media. A southern Wyoming livestock group is asking a federal court to force the Bureau of …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming’s sage grouse strategy sets bar for rest of the West

Wyoming’s sage grouse strategy sets bar for rest of the West

by Emilene Ostlind August 9, 2011

Doug Cooper stands on a ridge looking east across the grassy swales of the 7 L Livestock Company ranch just north of Casper. One hundred and fifty years ago, his …

Thumbnail image for Significant challenges await 1,100-mile Gateway West power corridor

Significant challenges await 1,100-mile Gateway West power corridor

by Environment & Energy Daily August 9, 2011

Reprinted with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC.
Not for republication by Wyoming media.
 
The Bureau of Land Management has taken a major step toward approving what would become the …

Thumbnail image for Clock ticking on sage grouse listing

Clock ticking on sage grouse listing

by Emilene Ostlind August 9, 2011

Related Story: Wyoming's sage grouse strategy sets bar for rest of the West

In hopes of keeping the greater sage grouse off the endangered species list, Wyoming has created a new …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming lawmakers differ on approach to debt ceiling

Wyoming lawmakers differ on approach to debt ceiling

by Ruffin Prevost August 2, 2011

The members of Wyoming’s Congressional delegation, all Republicans, have each said for months that federal spending must be sharply curtailed as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling. …

Thumbnail image for Sweet Beets

Sweet Beets

by Patrick Dawson July 26, 2011

The company that bottles Pepsi’s line of soft drinks in Worland is once again using sugar — from Big Horn Basin sugar beets — in some of its products. …

Thumbnail image for Plant Politics

Plant Politics

by Patrick Dawson July 26, 2011

Both corn and beets have been used to sweeten the billions of soft drinks Americans have consumed for decades. And both crops have shaped and been influenced by the politics, …

Thumbnail image for Deadly Workplaces – Wyoming’s workplace fatality rate still ranks among worst in nation

Deadly Workplaces – Wyoming’s workplace fatality rate still ranks among worst in nation

by Dustin Bleizeffer July 12, 2011

Despite being saddled with the worst-in-the-nation distinction for workplace fatalities, the decision to emphasize voluntary collaborative efforts rather than inspection and enforcement was emblematic of a pervasive attitude among industry …

Thumbnail image for Are Feds Slowing Oil and Gas Permitting?

Are Feds Slowing Oil and Gas Permitting?

by Dustin Bleizeffer June 28, 2011

Of the seven major oil and gas EISs now in the works in Wyoming, none have gotten to the “draft” stage. Once a draft is issued, stakeholders can better predict …

Thumbnail image for Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals

Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals

by ProPublica June 28, 2011

Wyoming’s rules are the strongest in place, although it’s unclear how thoroughly they are being enforced. The rules require public disclosure of all the chemicals except for trade secrets, which …

Thumbnail image for Right to Know: Press, officials seek consensus on reforms to meetings, records laws

Right to Know: Press, officials seek consensus on reforms to meetings, records laws

by Ruffin Prevost June 21, 2011

Elected officials, members of the news media and others are working this summer to reach consensus on a broad plan to reform Wyoming’s public records and open meetings laws. Among …

Thumbnail image for High Plains Showdown: Land planning seen as threat to property rights

High Plains Showdown: Land planning seen as threat to property rights

by Gregory Nickerson June 14, 2011

Murmurs of controversy began last October at a public meeting of HPI. During a mapping exercise, participants were asked to share ideas for how they would like the region to …

Thumbnail image for Gas industry pains over cost of coal

Gas industry pains over cost of coal

by Dustin Bleizeffer June 9, 2011

In its current rate increase request in Wyoming, Rocky Mountain Power is under scrutiny for having spent hundreds of millions of dollars in pollution controls for its fleet of coal-fired …

Thumbnail image for ‘Liquid coal’ too costly for Pentagon despite GOP push

‘Liquid coal’ too costly for Pentagon despite GOP push

by Environment & Energy Daily June 7, 2011

Tom Hicks, deputy assistant Navy secretary for energy, said in testimony to Congress that the rising price of oil “dramatically impacts the military.” For every $1 a barrel increase in …

Thumbnail image for Tongue River Water War

Tongue River Water War

by High Country News May 31, 2011

“First in time, first in right” guides how water is divvied up within states but doesn’t always apply across borders. Wyoming and Montana instead rely on the 1950 Yellowstone River …

Thumbnail image for Study cautions against energy industry’s effects on mule deer

Study cautions against energy industry’s effects on mule deer

by Environment & Energy Daily May 31, 2011

Energy development on Western public lands has contributed to the destruction of millions of acres of mule deer habitat in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, according to a new study that …

Thumbnail image for Search for Lost Teton Skiers Cost $115,000

Search for Lost Teton Skiers Cost $115,000

by Rone Tempest May 24, 2011

America’s national parks have a tradition of coming to the rescue of visitors in trouble and recovering the bodies of those who die on park grounds. In 2009, the most …

Thumbnail image for Pristine to Polluted: More drilling proposed near Pinedale despite ozone spikes

Pristine to Polluted: More drilling proposed near Pinedale despite ozone spikes

by Dustin Bleizeffer May 17, 2011

Despite significant reductions in the volume of emissions from the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah natural gas fields in recent years, the area remains prone to ozone spikes — a human …

Thumbnail image for More Wells, Fewer Emissions — Industry counting on advances in technology for cleaner air amid increased production

More Wells, Fewer Emissions — Industry counting on advances in technology for cleaner air amid increased production

by Dustin Bleizeffer May 17, 2011

Natural gas operators in the Upper Green River Basin say they’ve been able to drill more wells with fewer emissions in recent years, and they can continue to maintain that …

Wyoming’s next wave of natural gas drilling

by Dustin Bleizeffer May 17, 2011

Wyoming’s next wave of natural gas drilling
Pristine to Polluted | More Wells, Fewer Emissions | Next Wave of Natural Gas
It may seem counter-intuitive to propose some 21,000 new wells in …

Thumbnail image for Forest Service reverses course on Bridger-Teton leases

Forest Service reverses course on Bridger-Teton leases

by Environment & Energy Daily May 17, 2011

The Forest Service is reversing a controversial decision to cancel valid oil and natural gas drilling leases on 44,720 acres of Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest that are prized by outdoor …

Thumbnail image for Hispanic Wyoming:  The Jobs Machine of Campbell County

Hispanic Wyoming: The Jobs Machine of Campbell County

by Samuel Western May 3, 2011

Campbell County’s booming growth has provided opportunity not only for transient, poorly educated laborers, but for people with different skill sets: equipment operators, educators, managers, retailers and merchants. Hispanics with …

Thumbnail image for Winter ozone problem confounds regulators, industry

Winter ozone problem confounds regulators, industry

by Environment & Energy Daily April 26, 2011

The mystery behind the wintertime ozone problem that has plagued parts of the Intermountain West is deepening as pollution levels during the first quarter of 2011 dropped in northeast Utah …

Thumbnail image for Niobrara oil search brings seismic surveys

Niobrara oil search brings seismic surveys

by Gregory Nickerson April 19, 2011

The search for oil in southeast Wyoming has set off a massive seismic survey effort. Last fall, three seismic surveys alone blanketed an area 1,500 square miles in Laramie and …

Thumbnail image for Wolf delisting survives budget fight as settlement crumbles

Wolf delisting survives budget fight as settlement crumbles

by Environment & Energy Daily April 12, 2011

House and Senate appropriators have agreed to include a bipartisan proposal to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves as part of a final compromise to fund the government …

Thumbnail image for Partisan Split on Public Broadcasting

Partisan Split on Public Broadcasting

by Dustin Bleizeffer April 5, 2011

Wyoming Public Media general manager Jon Schwartz said he believes the real motive to defund is driven more by ideology than economics.

“This House bill that passed is, in an ironic …

Thumbnail image for Shoshone Forest Eyes New Rec Permits

Shoshone Forest Eyes New Rec Permits

by Ruffin Prevost April 4, 2011

THERMOPOLIS — In April 2001, Absaroka Bicycles owner Rick Roach submitted a proposal to the U.S. Forest Service to provide guided mountain bike trips into the Shoshone National Forest.
Last week, …

Thumbnail image for Oil & gas industry sitting on 7,200 drilling permits

Oil & gas industry sitting on 7,200 drilling permits

by Environment & Energy Daily March 29, 2011

The oil and gas industry has nearly 7,200 permits to drill on public lands that it has yet to use. The unused, but still valid, drilling permits paint a starkly …

Thumbnail image for Farm subsidies a complex mix of financial aid, politics & markets

Farm subsidies a complex mix of financial aid, politics & markets

by Ruffin Prevost March 29, 2011

Since the 1930s, the federal government has managed an increasingly complex system of subsidies, direct payments, incentives and other financial assistance to American farmers, all with the goal of making …

Thumbnail image for Construction industry continues to struggle

Construction industry continues to struggle

by Ruffin Prevost March 29, 2011

“The outlook for construction in general nationwide is still very dismal. In Wyoming, we’re certainly in a downward trend right now,” said Shawn Warner, division manager of Sletten Construction of …

Thumbnail image for Workers question double standard in unemployment vote

Workers question double standard in unemployment vote

by Ruffin Prevost March 29, 2011

Aid Debate Overview | ‘Double Standard’ | Construction Struggles | Farm Subsidies
CODY — Before Wyoming felt the cumulative effects of the 2007 credit crunch, the 2008 real estate collapse and …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming betting on coal-bed methane comeback despite industry bankruptcies

Wyoming betting on coal-bed methane comeback despite industry bankruptcies

by Dustin Bleizeffer March 22, 2011

Over the past several years coal-bed methane gas operators in the Powder River Basin have idled thousands of wells due to low pricing, and a handful of operators struggle on …

Thumbnail image for Advocates praise increase in Wyoming mental health funding, see room for improvement

Advocates praise increase in Wyoming mental health funding, see room for improvement

by Ruffin Prevost March 15, 2011

Despite the strong current fiscal outlook and overall increased spending and focus on mental health care in recent years, providers and patient advocates say Wyoming continues to face formidable challenges …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming Range drilling project garners 40,000 comments

Wyoming Range drilling project garners 40,000 comments

by Environment & Energy Daily March 15, 2011

A voluntary agreement by a Houston-based energy company to scale back a drilling project in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and win public support for the proposal appears to have galvanized …

Thumbnail image for Jobs, energy, policy & markets

Jobs, energy, policy & markets

by WyoFile March 8, 2011

How to best preserve American jobs, protect the environment and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels is the subject of two views — one from U.S. Senator …

Thumbnail image for BLM pressed on alleged ethics violations by former Wyoming manager

BLM pressed on alleged ethics violations by former Wyoming manager

by Environment & Energy Daily March 8, 2011

The Interior Department is being accused by a government watchdog group of ignoring possible ethics violations by a former Bureau of Land Management Casper field office manager who allegedly accepted …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming to become fourth state allowing concealed guns without permit

Wyoming to become fourth state allowing concealed guns without permit

by Ruffin Prevost March 8, 2011

In what may be a growing trend in states around the country, Wyoming will soon join Alaska, Arizona and Vermont in allowing residents to carry concealed guns without a permit. …

Thumbnail image for One Man’s Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Fracking

One Man’s Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Fracking

by ProPublica March 1, 2011

Meeks used to have abundant water on his small alfalfa ranch, a 40-acre plot speckled with apple and plum trees northeast of the Wind River Mountains and about five miles …

Thumbnail image for Fuel Factories: Communities at Risk

Fuel Factories: Communities at Risk

by Dustin Bleizeffer February 24, 2011

CASPER — Wyoming Refining Co.’s oil refinery is situated literally on Main Street in Newcastle and a mere half-mile away from Newcastle High School. The school is equipped with …

Thumbnail image for Over Objections from Tribal Leaders, Lawmakers Pass ‘Hybrid’ District Vote Bill

Over Objections from Tribal Leaders, Lawmakers Pass ‘Hybrid’ District Vote Bill

by Rone Tempest February 22, 2011

“After violating the civil rights of Indian voters for decades, the efforts by certain Fremont County officials to re-write state law to avoid another defeat in the pending lawsuit is …