Wyoming national forest seeks $2.5M to buy critical habitat

Shoshone National Forest managers are backing the purchase of 118 acres of private land near Dead Indian Pass above Sunlight Basin, calling the tract crucial winter range for elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep.

President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposal includes $2.5 million for the acquisition, but Congress must approve the appropriation from the Land and Water Conservation Fund as part of a larger budget bill.

Read the full story from the Billings Gazette here.

Wyoming study tracks differences between migratory, resident elk herds

Though elk and other animals typically move from winter range to summer pastures to find better forage and to avoid predators, those benefits have mostly disappeared over the past decade for a group of migratory elk in Park County.

“If there ever was any benefit in migrating to avoid predation, it doesn’t appear to be the case here. In fact, there’s a full reversal of the likely two main benefits of migrating for these elk,” said researcher Arthur Middleton.

 Read the full story from the Billings Gazette here.

Opinion: Wyoming governor takes right path on hydraulic fracturing

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has delayed making a final decision until June on reporting requirements about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.

But based upon questions about the process that the commission has been asking, the state is headed in the right direction to find a balance between the economic concerns of the energy industry and the public health questions raised by environmentalists and other residents.

Hydraulic "fracking" is the practice of pressurizing a mixture of sand and various fluids to fracture gas-bearing rock deep underground, creating pathways for the gas to flow toward a well bore.

Read the full opinion piece at the Casper Star-Tribune here.

Wyoming regulators caught in hydraulic-fracturing debate

State regulators are caught in a heated crossfire in their attempt to fend off critics and maintain primacy over the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry.

"We need to keep others at bay, and we want to keep primacy of this," said Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission supervisor Tom Doll.

Doll and his staff spent several hours Tuesday with industry officials and members of the public discussing several proposed rule changes. Of particular interest are changes that would require companies to report more information about the chemicals they pump into oil and gas wells for hydraulic fracturing.

Read the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune here .

Writer, photographer follow antelope on Wyoming migration route

Each year, hundreds of pronghorn antelope spend summer in Grand Teton National Park before following a migration route of 125 miles or more through the Gros Ventre Mountains to spend winter in the Red Desert.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the animals have followed the same trails for more than 6,000 years, and radio tracking collars show that some antelope travel as far as 170 miles one way during the twice-yearly trek.

But increasing development — including new homes, fences and energy projects — has squeezed parts of that route into narrow bottlenecks, threatening the 400 or fewer animals that make the trip.

Read the full story from the Billings Gazette here .

Editorial: Wyoming needs to know what's used in drilling process

The state of Wyoming and the federal government seem to be in tune for once on an issue that involves energy development and environmental protection.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is beginning a comprehensive research study "to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health."

The process, also known as "fracking," is the practice of pressurizing a mixture of sand and various fluids to fracture gas-bearing rock deep underground, creating pathways for the gas to flow toward a well bore.

Read the full editorial from the Casper Star-Tribune here .

Agreement adds 640 acres of Wyoming land to sage grouse effort

A prime sage grouse habitat area west of Pinedale in Sublette County will be preserved under a conservation easement announced this week.

The Conservation Fund, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Jonah Interagency Office have completed a critical conservation project near Daniel in the Upper Green River Valley, officials said.

The Aspen Ridge Habitat Conservation Project will protect 640 acres of habitat through a conservation easement and will improve the habitat on approximately 10,400 acres of adjacent public lands.

Read the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune here .

BLM buy in Wyoming would ensure angler access

Anglers will gain permanent access to a mile-long stretch of the North Platte River known for its blue-ribbon trout fishing if the U.S. Bureau of Land Management can swing the funding, the director of the Wyoming office of The Conservation Fund said.

The Conservation Fund, BLM and Wyoming Flycasters are working with the Miles Land and Livestock Co. to secure about 400 acres along the west bank of the river, Luke Lynch of The Conservation Fund and Joe Meyer of the BLM's Casper field office told the Natrona County commissioners.

The BLM has developed a comprehensive management plan for the North Platte River to identify areas worthy of public access, Lynch said.

Read the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune here .

Wyoming posts proposed rules for wind projects on state lands

The Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments has drawn up rules for wind development leasing on state land, partly to help reduce potential conflicts between wind development and other uses such as mining, drilling and ranching. The office is charged with managing about 3.6 million acres of state trust land for beneficiaries including public schools.

Read the full article from the Casper Star-Tribune here .

Conservation easement protects pronghorn's path in Wyoming

Pronghorn antelope from Grand Teton National Park will always have access through the last unprotected bottleneck on their annual migration route thanks to a new easement, a conservation group said Monday.

The Conservation Fund said it has completed a deal to secure a conservation easement on 2,400 acres of the Carney Ranch in Sublette County. The ranch lies along the “path of the pronghorn,” which wends from the national park, up the Gros Ventre River, over the Kinky Creek Divide and into the Green River basin. Read the full story from the Jackson Hole Daily here.