fbpx

John Burrows

John grew up in the small mountain town of Brevard, North Carolina, where he spent much of his childhood rambling down Appalachian backroads in search of good trout streams, long trail-runs, and backcountry adventures. His passion for natural resources and recreation followed him through college and graduate school where he received a B.A. in Environmental Studies with honors as a Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC Chapel Hill (2010–2014) and a Masters in Environmental Management at Duke University (2015–2017). Before cutting his teeth on western land management issues, John worked as the Conservation Forestry Fellow at The Forestland Group studying wetland and stream mitigation for large forestland owners. John is a field instructor and former Environmental Stewardship Coordinator for the National Outdoor Leadership School. He currently lives in Lander were he continues to enjoy those things he did growing up, except now on a Wyoming scale.

THE WESTERN SOLAR PLAN IS FINALIZED. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR WYOMING?

Posted on by John Burrows

Where we site large-scale solar matters — and with the final draft of the Bureau of Land Management’s Western Solar Plan, we now have a useful template for proactively deciding where solar projects should (and should not!) be built on federal lands.

Back in April, we asked our supporters to engage in the public comment process for the updated Western Solar Plan, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get solar siting right. If you submitted a comment on the draft plan, we can’t thank you enough! Because of your engagement, the final plan offers greater protections for Wyoming’s wildlife.

From draft to final, the BLM made a number of changes to the plan. Some are good, and some we’re not huge fans of. But on the whole, we’re pleased with how things shook out. Since the plan is rather hefty, we’ve compiled this guide to help you understand what it contains. (We’ll start with main takeaways, then, if you want them, we’ll dive into the nitty-gritty details.)

At the highest level, here’s what we know about the final plan:

  • The plan includes BLM lands in Wyoming. (The previous Western Solar Plan did not include Wyoming.)
  • 3.8 million acres of land in Wyoming are available for lease, or roughly 27 percent of BLM lands in the state. However, the BLM anticipates only 27,000 acres of actual development in Wyoming by 2045 to meet market demand for solar energy — roughly one percent of the total potential area available for leasing.
  • The plan limits solar development using 21 resource-based exclusion criteria including Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, threatened and endangered species habitat, and Tribal Interest Areas, among others.
  • The final plan adds significant protections for big game species. It excludes solar development from crucial winter range, parturition areas, and portions of migration corridors including high-use, stopover, and bottleneck habitat. The plan also helps clarify how new information and research could be used to update maps of big game habitat where development is not allowed. (We still have questions about how this process will work between BLM and state wildlife agencies and how frequently local land use plans will be updated.)
  • The final plan adds features to improve environmental justice considerations and community benefit agreements that WOC and others advocated for. However, we think the BLM did not adequately take into consideration Tribal perspectives and should do more to collaborate with Tribes on when and where solar is authorized, as well as how to address conflicts in priority areas for Tribal communities.
  • Areas available for solar leasing are limited to lands within 15 miles of existing or planned transmission and/or locations with previously disturbed lands.
  • The final plan excludes development on Lands with Wilderness Characteristics that have been protected in local land use plans.

The final Western Solar Plan: A deeper dive

To understand why we needed an updated Western Solar Plan, we have to begin with some context. An update has been long overdue for three key reasons: First, the cost of solar energy has plummeted nearly 90 percent over the last decade. In many places, solar is the cheapest way to add energy capacity to the grid. Second, the technology surrounding solar energy has improved significantly, making solar energy more efficient and viable in northern latitudes and over a wide range of conditions. In fact, the efficiency of solar panels has increased roughly 40 percent in the last decade. Finally, federal policy is currently promoting incentives around renewable energy and decarbonization to address concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Taken together, these trends have led to rapid growth in the solar industry. For perspective, solar and battery storage made up over 80 percent of new U.S. electric generation capacity in 2024 — surpassing even the most optimistic projections around solar development.

These changes point to accelerating demand for locations to site large-scale solar projects, which in turn means that we need to proactively assess where future solar development on public lands is and is not appropriate. This is why BLM’s updated plan is so important: Failing to put protective side-rails in place now to direct future development could mean losing many of the conservation, wildlife, recreation, and cultural values that are so important to Wyoming.

(If you’d like to read more about why the Western Solar Plan is our chance to meet an important moment, see our blog about the draft plan from earlier this year.)

Now that we have the context in place, what follows is WOC’s analysis of the final plan’s important parts.

BLM lands in Wyoming were included in the plan.

This was not a sure bet initially and, in fact, a number of prominent leaders in Wyoming opposed Wyoming’s inclusion. We think that including Wyoming in the new update is a good thing, as it takes some of our best habitat and intact landscapes off the table before projects are being considered.

Wyoming-specific map showing lands available for solar leasing (green) and locations where leasing will not be allowed (pink). This map does not include critical winter range exclusions for big game. Approximately 27 percent of BLM lands in Wyoming are open for leasing. (Note that BLM only anticipates 27,000 acres of actual solar development by 2045.)

The final plan combines aspects of various alternatives within the draft.

The final plan limits solar development to:

  • Areas outside of 21 key resource-based exclusion criteria. This includes exclusions for resources like Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, certain Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, Big Game Habitats, and Critical Habitat Areas for Threatened and Endangered Species. See the full table of exclusions here.
  • Areas with a slope of less than 10 percent.
  • Areas within 15 miles of existing or planned 69kW transmission or greater, and/or areas identified as previously disturbed lands, ​​which generally have diminished resource integrity based on the U.S. Geological Survey Landscape Intactness model.

By increasing the allowable distance from transmission corridors in the final plan, the overall acreage available for leasing on BLM lands in Wyoming increased substantially. The practical effect of this change would give industry more acreage to consider development on.

It’s important to note that the reasonably foreseeable development scenario has not changed — the best guess is demand for solar projects on public land in Wyoming will not exceed 27,000 acres by 2045. It’s also worth noting as a comparison number that there are more than 8 million acres of BLM land in Wyoming with existing oil and gas leasing. Table 6-1 below provides a state-by-state accounting of total lands available for application and exclusion areas.

The plan better protects big game species.

The resource exclusion criterion for big game was significantly improved to protect critical habitats and migration corridors. In the initial draft, solar development would have been allowed in migration corridors, crucial winter range, and parturition areas unless local BLM offices had their own protections in place (which is not the case for most Field Offices in Wyoming). Now, future solar development on BLM lands will be excluded in portions of big game migration corridors mapped as “high use,” migration pinch points, bottlenecks, and stopover areas, not to mention parturition areas and crucial winter range habitat. Additionally, BLM created a new “avoidance designation” for lands intersecting migration corridors mapped as “medium and low use.” This new designation would require developers to work with state wildlife agencies like the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to avoid harm to wildlife in order to proceed with proposed projects in avoidance areas.

This is a huge win and something that WOC and our allies fought hard to ensure. From the beginning, one of the most significant concerns with utility-scale solar development is its impact on wide-ranging wildlife that need open space to move freely across the landscape. The strengthening of this exclusion criterion gives us confidence that future projects will avoid situations like the one that unfolded at Sweetwater Solar, where thousands of pronghorn were pushed into a narrow road corridor because the project was built in a pathway used by the animals to access critical winter range habitat.

The plan clarifies how new information could be used.

BLM clarified the process by which new information, research, and habitat maps could be updated into the final plan as we learn more and refine our knowledge of the important movement patterns and habitat needs of wildlife. This provides a compelling incentive and opportunity to map additional migration corridors and update habitat maps for big game in the state.

Notably, a lack of mapped and published migration corridors in Wyoming reduced the amount of land designated as either “exclusion” or “avoidance” areas. Compared to some other states (like Nevada), Wyoming has a relatively small number of exclusion and avoidance areas for big game migration corridors, despite having some of the best habitat and copious data to draw on to model additional migration corridors. From our perspective, this provides another compelling reason why Wyoming must continue mapping and recognizing migration corridors, not to mention updating big game crucial winter range maps, so that this critical information can be used to better protect our state’s wildlife resources in future federal land management processes. Figure 6-3 below shows areas where solar leasing would currently be excluded and avoided based upon migration corridor data.

The plan excludes Lands with Wilderness Characteristics.

For Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, we are extremely pleased to see the BLM acknowledge the value of lands that still hold their wildness by excluding designated LWCs outright and considering all others — including those nominated by citizens — during project-level decisions. These areas are an important piece of the interconnected whole. They safeguard the ecological integrity of the greater landscape and provide meaningful opportunities for Tribal members and local communities to connect with and sustainably steward the land.

Other considerations

During the public comment period on the draft plan, WOC and the Wyoming Wilderness Association raised a number of other important issues. These were addressed (to various degrees) as programmatic design features in the plan. These included:

  • A requirement to identify whether the lands within and immediately adjacent to the proposed solar energy project have been assessed for wilderness characteristics or have been included in a citizen’s wilderness inventory or proposal.
  • Requirements around Tribal consultation considerations and the avoidance of impacts to resources and landscapes important to Tribal communities.
  • Requirements around environmental justice considerations and guidelines encouraging the use of community benefit agreements by developers.

We are still working to understand the exact implications and nuances of these requirements, especially as they relate to Tribal consultation and what mitigation looks like when impacts to Tribal resources occur. The mitigation concepts proposed in the final plan fail to recognize the place-based importance of these resources for Tribal communities. As such, mitigating impacts by guaranteeing access to a resource in a different location, or by transplanting species, misses the point of those areas themselves being important — not just the area’s plants, minerals, or animals.

Conclusion: Looking forward

All in all, BLM’s final plan shook out positively for big game species and a number of the other resources and values that are critical from a conservation perspective. Given the relatively small amount of development forecasted in Wyoming, WOC would have preferred the final alternative to be more prescriptive in limiting development to only the least impactful locations.

As we think about the future of renewable energy development, it is only going to become more important to focus on project-specific NEPA analyses to understand the local and overall cumulative effects of proposed development. Decisions made at the project level, even down to the type of fencing and ways that solar panels are mounted, can have a huge impact on the environment and wildlife. Similarly, as with other forms of development, careful attention needs to be given to lifecycle considerations such as impacts from raw material extraction, component recycling, and reclamation for utility scale solar projects. Our commitment to Wyoming and our supporters is to scrutinize these projects as they’re proposed and take action when changes or improvements are necessary.

The renewable energy boom is coming, and one of the biggest challenges we face is the need to simultaneously reduce our carbon emissions to address a changing climate, while also protecting the best of the habitat and natural resources we have left. Locally, these goals can find themselves at odds, despite the fact that globally, they are largely the same.

In this transition, it’s important to recognize that Wyoming sits in a place of abundance — for its renewable energy potential and its outstanding habitat, recreation, and cultural resources. With so much to lose, we must proceed carefully and thoughtfully. The Western Solar Plan is a step in the right direction, but much more work still needs to be done to ensure that all large scale energy development is done responsibly with both environment and people in mind.

Header image: Bureau of Land Management | Flickr CC

Meeting the Moment: Planning for a Responsible Energy Future with the Western Solar Plan

Posted on by John Burrows

Attend our virtual Conservation Cafeteria on the Western Solar Plan on Wednesday, April 3 at noon — RSVP here.

If you’ve been following national energy trends, you may have noticed that 2022 was a big year. It was the first year in recent history that renewable energy surpassed coal generation in the U.S. As the cost of renewable energy continues to decline, and numerous state and federal policies continue to encourage decarbonization, it’s clear that renewable energy is here to stay. And that means states like Wyoming need to start preparing for new types of energy infrastructure on their lands. 

For Wyoming, the implications of a transition to low-carbon and renewable energy are difficult to overstate, especially considering the footprint of utility-scale renewable energy and its potential impacts to wildlife, habitats, open spaces, and cultural resources across the state. Fortunately for one key renewable energy resource that Wyoming has in abundance — sunlight — we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that this development is sited right from the start. That’s where the Western Solar Plan comes in.

The 2012 Western Solar Plan is getting updated — and Wyoming is included!

The Bureau of Land Management is currently proposing to expand and update its 2012 Western Solar Plan, which will help identify the best locations across the West for future utility-scale solar development — in this case, solar facilities that produce 5 megawatts or more on public lands. The plan aims to proactively screen for wildlife, sensitive habitats, cultural resources, and other values and resources that could conflict with solar energy development. Wyoming wasn’t included in the 2012 plan, back when solar energy cost roughly 10 times what it costs today. But the updated plan includes Wyoming and other newcomers, including Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  

Having Wyoming included in the updated Western Solar Plan is great news! This policy update was a core recommendation of the Renewable Energy Siting Collaborative, a convening of industry, conservation groups, academics and other stakeholders that the Wyoming Outdoor Council helped facilitate in 2021. The large footprint that solar energy needs to produce electricity means that inappropriately sited projects could have devastating consequences for Wyoming’s migrating ungulate herds and fragile habitats. We’ve unfortunately witnessed this firsthand with the Sweetwater Solar Facility, the state’s first utility-scale solar project on public lands. This facility was placed along a pronghorn migration route north of Green River, creating a barrier along the animals’ path that funneled them onto a county highway, creating a dangerous situation for pronghorn and motorists alike. It’s an example that shows the impact these facilities can have on wildlife and just how important it is to site projects in ways that avoid sensitive habitats.

​​Help us achieve the best outcome for Wyoming

From now until April 18, the BLM is seeking comments on five different alternatives for the updated Western Solar Plan through its e-planning website. BLM’s preferred alternative (alternative 3) would leave 2.98 million acres (roughly 17 percent) of BLM land in Wyoming open for solar development applications. Stated simply — we think this is too much.

Wyoming is unique in its open spaces, unfragmented habitats, and iconic seasonal wildlife migrations. Solar development in particular presents an impenetrable barrier for big game that threatens connectivity on these landscapes. This is why we are urging our members to tell the BLM to select an alternative that further narrows where solar projects can exist, while still leaving enough acreage available to help our nation reach important climate goals.

Specifically, we urge our members to support alternative 5, which requires that solar energy development on public lands meet the following criteria: 

  • Be located on previously disturbed lands with diminished integrity
  • Be located within 10 miles of existing or proposed transmission corridors
  • Be located on slopes less than 10 degrees
  • Not conflict with 21 resource-based exclusions that BLM has identified for all alternatives. (A full list of these exclusions can be found starting on page 21 of the draft plan.)  

Even when considering these criteria, alternative 5 still allows for applications for solar development in 1.4 million acres of public lands in Wyoming. This is about 50 times more than the BLM expects will actually get developed by 2045 in their reasonably foreseeable development scenario for Wyoming (below). Alternative 5 also adds an additional safeguard by only considering applications on previously disturbed lands which would help ensure that the loss of unfragmented and healthy habitat is minimized and that future solar development is directed away from these areas.  

Figure 1: BLMS Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario. Available here.

Speak up for Wyoming’s wildlife

Finally, we need your help speaking up for Wyoming’s wildlife in the plan. As drafted, the Western Solar Plan excludes solar development from big game migration corridors and winter ranges only where this habitat is identified and explicitly singled out for exclusion in existing land use plans. Unfortunately, most of Wyoming’s resource management plans are severely outdated and provide little to inadequate acknowledgement for big game migrations and winter-range in relation to renewable energy projects. Biologists have collected huge amounts of data in recent years to delineate migratory routes and improve understanding of how animals are using crucial winter range in Wyoming. Very little of this has been included or updated in resource management plans.

If this plan is to be successful for Wyoming and avoid harm to our wildlife, it needs to avail itself of the best available science on migrations and winter ranges. In your comments, tell the BLM that it needs to revise its big game exclusion criterion (criterion 9) to protect identified big game crucial winter range and migration corridors from utility-scale solar development regardless of the direction offered in applicable land use plans. The risks to our ungulate herds are too great to ignore the best available data waiting on land use plan revisions that may take decades. 

Help Us Meet the Moment

It’s not everyday in our work as conservation advocates that we get the chance to raise our voice in support of planning efforts with the potential to have such an impact as the Western Solar Plan. As many of you know, this work is so frequently driven by the need to react to bad ideas and policies that threaten conservation values. This plan is different. It sets the rules that will govern solar development on public land for decades to come. From our vantage point at WOC, we are entering a time when the country’s energy future is at a crossroads — and Wyoming stands to play an important role in choosing which path we take. With an updated Western Solar Plan, we have a rare opportunity to be proactive and reduce many of the resource conflicts that we’ve sadly grown accustomed to on our public lands. We can plan for the development that will be needed to power our country while also meeting our long-term climate goals and protecting the wildlife and the very things that make Wyoming special. 

New federal methane rules would curb climate change, benefit Wyoming

Posted on by John Burrows

On Friday, Nov. 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took an important step toward protecting public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change by strengthening proposed rules that will reduce wasteful methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

If enacted, these common-sense rules would be the first action by the EPA to regulate methane emissions from the thousands of existing oil and gas wells in Wyoming, not just future development. The rules are expected to promote new cost-effective technologies to prevent waste, and make natural gas more competitive as consumers demand cleaner sources of energy.

The announcement of new measures to cut methane and other harmful pollutants from oil and gas operations is welcome news, and builds off of Wyoming’s own successes in reducing harmful emissions and will limit wasted methane from leak-prone equipment.

The updated proposal would require routine and cost-effective monitoring of well sites, encourage the development and use of new leak detection technologies, and set higher standards for flaring — a practice by which methane is burned as a waste product rather than captured and sold.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council sees these rules as essential to spurring future innovation around leak detection and repair and to creating a level playing field for methane regulation across the oil and gas industry. We’re encouraged by the efforts to address routine flaring, and hope that the final rule fully eliminates this wasteful practice.

Methane emissions from human activities are responsible for about 30 percent of global warming since the industrial revolution.

The case for cutting methane emissions

  • Methane regulation is supported widely by leading industry and conservation groups. Many oil and gas operators, including major Wyoming producers like Jonah Energy and Purewest Energy, are already working to reduce sources of wasted methane as consumers demand cleaner sources of energy.
  • The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed into law in August 2022, set aside roughly $1.5 billion to help operators to comply with new methane emissions rules.
  • Capturing methane is very cost effective. In many cases wasted natural gas can be captured and sold, paying for most, if not all, of the additional work needed to capture it. Recent data from the International Energy Agency suggest that up to 45 percent of wasted methane emissions can be prevented at no net cost.
  • Reducing methane leaks saves taxpayer dollars and stewards valuable resources for the future. In 2018, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and its partners estimated that between $51 million and $96 million of methane was vented and flared annually in Wyoming. This translated to $9-16 million lost in annual royalty payments to the state.
  • Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production is widely regarded by scientists and policy makers as a critical first step to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change in the future. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for about 30 percent of global warming since the industrial revolution. However, methane also leaves the atmosphere quickly compared to other greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Reducing wasted methane emissions now is one of the best opportunities to buy time to implement other climate solutions.
  • Reducing methane emissions has significant air quality and human health benefits. The same leak detection and repair practices used to reduce methane will also reduce harmful air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause respiratory damage and contribute to poor air quality.

Two Ways to Reduce Methane Emissions, and Why Wyoming Needs them Both

Posted on by John Burrows

Most policy experts agree that, along the long road to combating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing wasted methane from oil and gas operations is “low-hanging fruit.”

In 2020 alone, wasted methane gas from oil and gas operations made up roughly one-third of all methane emissions from human activity. The obvious need to address this problem is why there are two proposed regulatory changes involving methane that could have major impacts on lowering greenhouse gas emissions from our country’s oil and gas sector. The rules — one from the Environmental Protection Agency and the other from the Bureau of Land Management — would seek to reduce methane waste, and their success is important for Wyoming’s environment and taxpayers alike.

Methane is the second-most significant greenhouse gas in terms of impact on global warming. It is responsible for approximately a quarter of the Earth’s warming since the Industrial Revolution and, when compared to carbon dioxide, it has roughly 80 times the global warming potential over a 20-year period (International Energy Agency). However, despite how methane’s potency, it cycles out of the atmosphere much quicker than carbon dioxide: This means methane emission reductions now can help lower greenhouse gas concentrations and buy time to make the necessary societal changes we need to achieve net zero emissions over the coming decades.

But putting aside the many climate and environmental benefits of reducing wasted methane, it also just makes sense as a cost-effective policy solution. Wasted methane, after all, is essentially natural gas that can be captured and brought to market. As a quick comparison, in 2019 alone, oil and gas operators wasted enough methane from venting and flaring (common ways operators manage methane waste) to power 2.1 million U.S. homes (Environmental Defense Fund).

In fact, the International Energy Agency estimates nearly 50 percent of wasted methane can be captured with no net cost to producers (IEA). This is because investments made in reducing methane emissions pay for themselves over the long term by keeping more natural gas in route to energy consumers and out of the atmosphere.

Which brings us to the new EPA and BLM methane rules — federal efforts the Wyoming Outdoor Council supports to help curb this wasteful practice. Last November, the EPA released new draft rules that would regulate wasted methane emissions for both new and existing sources for the first time. (Historically, in most cases, methane has only been regulated from “new and modified” emissions sources, and older “existing sources” of wasted methane have largely been left alone). The EPA rules would apply under the authority of the Clean Air Act, treating methane as an air pollutant. Importantly, the rules would regulate methane emissions from oil and gas facilities across all jurisdictions and land ownerships (including private, federal, and tribal lands) and, if they go into effect, could dramatically cut emissions and uniformly raise the bar for responsible energy development. The EPA’s rules are widely supported by both environmental and industry groups alike, because they are good for the environment, create an equal playing field for businesses by setting uniform standards, and establish regulatory certainty under which companies can predictably operate and plan.

Separately, the Department of the Interior is also considering a BLM methane waste rule that would apply more narrowly to oil and gas production on federal and tribal lands. The BLM’s rules take their authority from the waste prevention mandate in the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. This mandate allows the Secretary of the Interior to “use all reasonable precautions to prevent waste of oil or gas developed on the land.” In states like Wyoming, where the majority of oil and gas development occurs on public lands, the application of this rule could help the public realize higher returns on the development of natural resources by charging royalties for wasted natural gas.

In 2018, the Outdoor Council estimated that Wyoming lost as much as $96 million worth of natural gas in a single year due to intentional flaring, venting, and careless leaks. This translates into roughly $16.1 million lost in annual royalty payments to the state. These are critical revenue streams that taxpayers and budget-strapped Wyoming communities deserve to see for the depletion of natural resources (WOC Oil and Gas Waste Report). And of course, the rule would provide further incentive for producers to keep methane in the pipeline and out of the atmosphere.

Both the BLM’s authority under its waste prevention mandate and the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate air pollutants are needed to address climate concerns and ensure that Wyomingites receive a fair value for the one-time use of their non-renewable resources. While some leading companies like Jonah Energy, Occidental, and Devon Energy are taking action to cut methane and support federal methane regulation, that simply isn’t enough. Most oil and gas operators are not doing frequent, thorough inspections for leaks and we need stronger state leadership to support these common sense federal rules that will benefit our environment and our pocketbooks.

Looking forward, both the EPA and BLM rules have procedural and administrative hurdles to clear before they go into effect, hopefully later this year. Our commitment is to continue tracking and advocating strong methane rules as well as keeping you informed of the opportunities to get these policies over the finish line in 2022. The long-term outlook of Wyoming’s climate, budget and residents depends on it.

Everything in its Place

Posted on by John Burrows

EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE

How do we make sure the coming boom in renewable energy
isn’t a bust for our wildlife and public lands? 

This story, like much of the good work that happens in Lander, began as a meeting over coffee at the Lander Bake Shop. Staff from several conservation groups, including the Wyoming Outdoor Council, had gathered to look at GPS tracking collar data from pronghorn around Sweetwater Solar, Wyoming’s first large-scale solar project on public land.

 The map of the pronghorn’s movement was infuriating — the 700-acre solar development had been placed right in the middle of crucial winter habitat. Fences surrounding the project had funneled many of the animals onto Highway 372 north of the city of Green River, creating hazards for both wildlife and drivers. The impacts of the Sweetwater Solar project on pronghorn were completely predictable and avoidable. But aside from a brief Environmental Assessment required by the Bureau of Land Management, there was little in the existing permitting process to direct the developers to a better location where wildlife conflicts could have been avoided. 

What became clear in that meeting and in subsequent discussions was that the Sweetwater Solar project was likely a harbinger of what’s to come in the next decade as the cost of developing solar and wind energy continues to fall dramatically. 

The expected boom in renewable energy puts advocates for conservation in Wyoming in a challenging spot. We understand the dire importance of transitioning to cleaner energy sources, and at the same time recognize the significant development footprint that utility-scale renewables can have on Wyoming’s wildlife and open spaces. The question and dilemma on many of our minds is this: How does Wyoming decarbonize its electricity production while not sacrificing the crucial wildlife habitat and open space that make it so unique? 

As with many of the challenges our state faces, there is no silver bullet to solve this problem, but common sense and science both tell us that focusing our efforts on responsible siting and permitting processes for renewables is the logical place to start. That’s exactly what WOC tried to do with its effort to jumpstart the Wyoming Renewable Energy Siting Collaborative. 

As with many of the challenges our state faces, there is no silver bullet to solve this problem, but common sense and science both tell us that focusing our efforts on responsible siting and permitting processes for renewables is the logical place to start.

After the 2020 legislative session, WOC started reaching out to stakeholders around the state to understand the perception of renewable energy and ways we might be able to improve our siting and permitting policies. We worked closely with faculty at the University of Wyoming to convene a group of policy thinkers representing conservation, industry, local government, landowners, and independent consultants to explore opportunities for the state to improve how renewable energy is sited. 

During 2021 this group met nine times over Zoom to discuss issues related to renewable energy in Wyoming, including tax policy, federal and state revenue sharing, transmission development, supply chain manufacturing, and other topics. The group also learned from and consulted with experts from the Wyoming Industrial Siting Division, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust. The group’s final recommendations were published in November 2021 and can be found on UW’s Ruckelshaus Institute website. 

These recommendations are a start. They form an important foundation for future policy and advocacy work, especially as our country moves to decarbonize electricity production and accelerate the growth of renewables. They also show that industry and conservation can work together to agree on important concepts moving forward. 

Some of the most important points of agreement in these recommendations address the need for more proactive planning for renewable development on public lands, the need for early and frequent consultation with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to avoid wildlife conflicts, and the need to evaluate previously disturbed locations as places to site renewable energy. There is also strong agreement on the importance of public transparency and engagement as projects move forward so impacted citizens and communities have opportunities for meaningful input on project proposals. 

We know that more wind and solar energy is on the horizon, and the development of these resources will present historic challenges and opportunities for Wyoming. But as with all development, we must insist that this growth be done on our terms — in a responsible and measured way — that does not degrade and diminish the very things clean energy is supposed to protect. Holding that line will require leadership at the state level. It will also take collaborative efforts like the one that played out last year at the University of Wyoming — with the full spectrum of experts and advocates coming together with a shared goal of making sure future development is sited appropriately. We’ve already seen the impacts on wildlife when things go wrong. But done right, renewable energy development could be an asset, not a liability, to Wyoming’s environment and quality of life.

Run the Red to Celebrate Wyoming Public Lands Day with Community Events in South Pass City

Posted on by John Burrows

Hundreds of runners from across the nation and their families, members of the public, speakers, and Tribal members will kick off the Wyoming Public Lands celebration on September 25 in South Pass City. This holiday recognizes the millions of acres of public lands in Wyoming that belong to everyone. The celebration coincides with Run the Red, where runners race across the desert, competing in half marathon, 50K, and 100K distances.

Gov. Mark Gordon in March 2019 signed legislation that recognized the fourth Saturday of each September as a day to celebrate the public lands that are central to Wyoming’s quality of life, economy and heritage. Wyoming was the third state in the country to declare a state public land’s day.  The public is encouraged to attend or simply get outside to enjoy a national forest, national monument, wildlife refuge, or any public land. 

Run the Red began in 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the 30th anniversary of the Wyoming Wilderness Act. In 2019 the race was also coordinated to celebrate the inaugural Wyoming Public Lands Day. The event has grown over the years, starting with just 30 runners and growing to over 200 with multiple courses. Last fall, a short film from Patagonia further elevated the race to a national profile. Run the Red begins in the former gold mining community of South Pass City and takes runners through the Northern Red Desert — a maze of buttes, canyons, badlands, wilderness study areas, and miles of open country. Parts of the course even traverse the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails where some 500,000 emigrants traveled in search of new beginnings in the 1800s. 

In addition to the races, a series of tours, speakers, music, and food is planned for the day. Beginning at 6:30 a.m., a pancake breakfast will be served for volunteers and members of the public and numerous nonprofit organizations will be tabling including the Equality State Policy Center, Citizens for the Red Desert, Red Desert Audubon, and others. The bulk of the family and community events begin around 9:30 a.m., which include tours of the Carissa Mine and the Flood & Hindle Trails, a nature hike lead by ethnobotanist John Mionczynski, and an Oregon Trail presentation by Randy Weiss. Kids will also be able to enjoy gold panning, and a kids fun run will be held around 10:30 a.m. Two local food trucks — Hungry Buddha from Rock Springs and Monahooboo Hut from Wind River — will provide food options for the public and beer will be served by Square State Brewing from Rock Springs.

Big Wind Singers, a traditional drum group, and dancing by the Wind River Dancers will kick off the main celebration at noon. Following the cultural celebration, members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes will speak about the cultural significance of the Red Desert and the meaning of their dance and song. Elected officials and state leaders have been invited to speak about the importance of public lands to all people. Music by Ten Cent Stranger begins at 2 p.m. and an old time piano and accordion performance by John Mionczynski will wrap up the celebration in the evening. The festivities are open to all. To see the full schedule of events, go to www.runthereddesert.com

How unseen emissions continue to impair air quality in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin

Posted on by John Burrows

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

HOW UNSEEN EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO IMPAIR AIR QUALITY IN WYOMING’S UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN

Whether you ranch, farm, hunt, fish, or ski, there is a season for most things in Wyoming. But there are some seasons that we could do without. Topping that list is “winter ozone season” in the Upper Green River Basin of Sublette County.  

For nearly two decades, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Pinedale-based Citizens United for Responsible Energy Development (CURED) have been actively working to improve winter ozone conditions in this region, which is home to the state’s largest natural gas fields. This seasonal phenomenon typically occurs when the right combination of weather patterns, surface reflectivity from snow and ice, and emissions like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (known as VOCs) all combine to create ozone molecules. When the ground-level ozone concentration exceeds 70 parts per billion, it can have harmful respiratory effects and cause lung damage in people who breathe the polluted air.

While there have been some modest improvements in the region’s air quality since development in the basin started, the basic fact remains that the UGRB, which once boasted some of the cleanest air in the country, remains dangerously close to violating the Clean Air Act’s standards for ozone. The consequences of this violation could be significant not only for the people living, working, and breathing in Sublette County, but for the industry operators who would likely see new regulations to bring the region back into compliance with air quality standards. 

The UGRB, which once boasted some of the cleanest air in the country, remains dangerously close to violating the Clean Air Act’s standards for ozone.

To better understand why this area continues its seasonal struggle with high ozone levels, the Outdoor Council teamed up with CURED and a trained thermographer from Earthworks, a community-based advocacy organization, to visit the Upper Green in November 2020 and inspect roughly a dozen oil and gas sites on the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields. Our goal was simple: to document examples of permitted emissions from oil and gas facilities on public lands and consider what appropriate next steps regulators can take to continue improving this region’s air quality.

Engine stack emissions from the Enterprise Products’ Bridger Compressor Station are an obvious example of a “major source” facility permitted under the Clean Air Act. This footage shows the stark contrast between what an observer can see with the naked eye versus through the lens of specialized infrared camera equipment. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

Almost all of the sites our team visited had some detectable levels of fugitive emissions — none of which would have been visible without the use of a state of the art forward-looking infrared camera. These FLIR cameras, which individually cost as much as a high end sports car, provide a glimpse of the otherwise invisible emissions occurring across the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline oil and gas fields.

As part of their operating permits, companies are typically allowed to emit certain levels of pollutants into the atmosphere. Sometimes emissions are vented and released intentionally, while other times they are accidental and the result of old or leaky equipment that needs to be updated or repaired. Both contribute to poor air quality and the region’s ozone season.

Natural gas producers operate thousands of facilities in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin. These facilities collectively leak or vent thousands of tons of methane and VOCs each year.

Fugitive emissions seen on Jonah Energy LLC’s Stud Horse Butte Tanks #10-28. The basin’s windy conditions can make it more difficult to see the gas plumes leaking from infrastructure in the UGRB. The region’s poorest air quality is typically on calm days during inversions when concentrations of pollutants build up. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

One routine and permitted practice in the Upper Green that contributes to the region’s wintertime ozone problems is when oil and gas wells are intentionally “blown down” to clear them of debris and sludge that accumulates over time. Blowdown tanks are often used to hold the residual fluids and gases that are expelled during these events, but this process frequently results in large volumes of fugitive gasses and VOCs escaping into the atmosphere. During a two-month period in the winter of 2020, Jonah Energy reported 1,008 blowdown events totaling over 159 hours of uncontrolled emissions venting. Dozens of other production companies operate in the region and, collectively, blowdowns result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted gas annually and thousands of tons of vented methane and VOCs.

Emissions venting from tanks at Ultra Resource’s Stud Horse Butte Tanks #7-21. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

Emissions from leaking equipment or intentional venting can combine to create ground-level ozone, which can cause respiratory problems and lung damage.

When added up across the landscape, blowdown events and other forms of permitted emissions have the potential to play a big role in the seasonally unhealthy air that impacts the Upper Green. In our day in the field, we were able to document these emissions coming from blowdown tanks, combustor units, and dehydrators. It’s not hard to imagine what that impact could be when multiplied by the thousands of permitted facilities currently operating in the basin.

A leaking tank at Pinedale Energy Partners’ Mesa #1 well. Oil and gas companies operate thousands of facilities in the Upper Green River Basin. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)
Pinedale Energy Partners’ Mesa well #3-17 shows blowdown tanks that are badly venting emissions. The harmful gasses being released into the atmosphere could be controlled by flaring which would turn these emissions into less harmful ones like carbon dioxide and water vapor. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

If the oil and gas industry is going to continue to serve Wyoming as it has historically, it needs to adapt and change to meet the expectations of mostly out-of-state consumers who are increasingly holding energy production to higher environmental and social standards. Based upon our own field observations, a good starting point for Wyoming regulators would be to reduce, and ultimately end, the common practice of using uncontrolled blowdown tanks to vent emissions from oil and gas operations. These emission sources and others should be minimized by being routed to combustors, and more work is needed to reduce the amount of wasted gas that is vented into the atmosphere. While blowdowns are just one of many emissions sources that need to be addressed by operators and regulatory agencies, this would protect public health and air quality. It would also be in the best interest of the industry in the long term.

We look forward to a future trip to the UGRB where the only things to see through a FLIR camera would be the silhouettes of mountains and clouds. But for that future to become a reality, there is still clear work to be done. With states like New Mexico and Colorado taking strong steps to clamp down on uncontrolled venting and set high standards for leak detection and repair, Wyoming’s operators should be following suit to address growing concerns over fugitive emissions, air pollution, and climate change.

    Despite public outcry, Wyoming’s net metering law will again be on the chopping block

    Posted on by John Burrows

    [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default” width=”75%” hover_enabled=”0″ text_line_height=”1.7em” sticky_enabled=”0″]

    Last week, we asked many of you to speak up at the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations Committee meeting and oppose a bill that would have undercut rooftop solar and small scale renewables in this state. And wow‚ that’s exactly what you did. The impact of your letters, calls, emails, and testimony was undeniable. The committee heard you. Because of you, the bill was dead upon arrival.

    But, as many of you know, things at the legislature can change quickly and often unexpectedly. After the committee acknowledged that the votes were not there to pass the original bill, several members pulled the rug out from under the discussion by making a motion to substitute that bill with entirely different language and intentions. No one, including some members of the committee, saw this coming, and apart from a brief screen-share of a private document, the new bill was not even publicly available.

    To the many members of the public who had taken time out of their day to participate — some of them taking time out of work — this was a shockingly sneaky maneuver. The last minute bill swap undermined the ability of the public to meaningfully weigh in on the topic while pushing through these committee members’ own agenda on net metering.

    Consider for a moment, that the committee hadn’t been assigned net metering as an interim topic, and that the interim is supposed to be a time for thoughtful consideration of complex issues that require public input. Voting to advance a bill that neither the public or many members of the committee had ever seen before flies in the face of that. For those of you who spent time preparing testimony on the original bill that was not even considered, we are sorry.

    We’re also sorry that after nearly three and a half hours of public testimony overwhelmingly against changing our existing net metering law, the committee decided to advance the new bill to the 2021 legislative session. This new bill charges the Public Service Commission to study net metering and set new rates and conditions for customers who currently have net-metered systems. The problem is this new bill leaps to the conclusion that net-metered customers are being subsidized by other ratepayers in Wyoming. This is not necessarily true. By thinking about net metering only as a “subsidy,” without also directing the Public Service Commission to consider the economic, social, and environmental that this policy generates, this bill’s narrow focus will make rooftop solar more expensive and kill jobs in this growing sector of our economy.

    So what comes next? We believe that rooftop solar and small scale renewables can and should play an important part in diversifying our state’s economy and helping us address growing concerns about carbon emissions and climate change. The Wyoming Outdoor Council, along with a large coalition of solar and renewable energy supporters, will continue working on this issue and preparing for its appearance at the 2021 legislative session. Stay tuned as there will be plenty of opportunities to defeat or amend this bill. This fight is not over.

    In the meantime, there are some real heroes on the committee that questioned and fought for the integrity of the public process that could use recognition and a quick thank you. Senator Tara Nethercott, in particular, was a passionate defender against the tactics we saw used last Wednesday. If you have a moment, we would encourage you to send a thank you to her and the other four members of the committee listed below who appreciate the value of public process, and who voted not to move any legislation forward under such circumstances.

    Sen. Tara Nethercott
    Tara.Nethercott@wyoleg.gov, 307.399.7696
    Rep. Dan Furphy
    Dan.Furphy@wyoleg.gov, 307. 760.0148
    Rep. Shelly Duncan
    Shelly.Duncan@wyoleg.gov,  307.575.2894
    Rep. Andi Clifford
    Andrea.Clifford@wyoleg.gov, 307.840.4327
    Rep. Jim Blackburn
    Jim.Blackburn@wyoleg.gov, 307.514.4318

     

     

    [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

    Climate change: the new front line for conservation in Wyoming

    Posted on by John Burrows

    Wyoming is changing, faster now than any of us could have predicted even six months ago. In our last issue of Frontline, we addressed the reality of climate change and what it means for Wyoming’s future. Climate change is not a separate issue, but one that is deeply intertwined with all aspects of our work — from protecting our state’s big game populations to reducing harmful air emissions, to safeguarding our clean water, public lands, and ultimately our way of life. And if we are to succeed in our mission, we must advocate for policies that directly confront the real and growing threat of human-caused climate change.

    Wildlife and migration

    As you know,  the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s wildlife work over the last several years has focused on protecting Wyoming’s big game migration corridors — and for good reason. The science is clear about the crucial role these corridors play in maintaining ungulate populations that in turn support our state’s recreation economy and outdoor heritage. Yet, a changing climate could easily undermine many of these hard-fought efforts. For one, changing precipitation patterns and drought increasingly threaten the ability of animals to “surf the green waves” that connect their seasonal habitats. Wyoming has seen warming temperatures and drought intensify over the last 20 years and most experts agree that, at least for our state, this trend only gets worse. If we are to ensure that our state’s wildlife remain protected for the long term, we must also consider how these populations stay resilient and capable of adapting to these changes, while taking responsibility to mitigate the most damaging forecasted climate scenarios. 

    Clean air

    It’s hard to talk about clean air and the policies necessary to maintain it without acknowledging the relationship between climate change and the greenhouse gases at the heart of Wyoming’s air quality problems. We often think of natural gas as a cleaner fuel than coal — and it is, if we minimize the amount of fugitive emissions that leak into the atmosphere as it is produced and processed. The Outdoor Council has repeatedly called on Wyoming’s Department of Environmental Quality and the oil and gas industry to address air quality concerns, by advocating improved Leak Detection and Repair requirements for oil and gas infrastructure and opposing rollbacks of critical methane capture rules. With natural gas expected to play a major role in energy production for years to come, Wyoming must keep on raising the bar for air quality standards not only to protect our health, but to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint and stay competitive in energy markets that are favoring cleaner energy.

    Clean water

    One of the most alarming aspects of climate change in Wyoming is its impacts on our arid state’s already limited water resources. If current projections for warming hold, Wyoming could see significant loss of coldwater fisheries and native trout habitat by the end of this century due to increased water temperatures and loss of instream flows as our snowfields and glaciers shrink. These conditions exacerbate water quality concerns the Outdoor Council has been working hard to address, such as reducing harmful E. coli concentrations in our waterways. Warming temperatures are also projected to increase the amount of rainfall as opposed to snow, which reduces the amount of stored water potential available in the summer and fall. This spells increasing challenges and conflicts for ranchers, farmers, cities, recreators, and, again, our wildlife.

    Our public lands

    Advocating responsible energy development has been at the heart of the Outdoor Council’s public lands policy work — whether that’s fighting back against efforts to privatize public lands, urging the protection of special landscapes, or watchdogging development in crucial wildlife areas. We’ve recently reported on the rampant and largely speculative oil and gas leasing taking place across large swaths of the state. Not only do these lease sales come at the expense of other uses of our public lands, for those that are developed, they come at the expense of the quality of the environment that future generations will inherit. Remarkably, nearly one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions produced in the United States originate from public lands — lands that are supposed to be managed with both current and future generations in mind. This is not sustainable. To the greatest extent possible, our public lands should be managed in ways that mitigate climate change and help surrounding communities be more resilient into the future. 

    Confronting climate change also means addressing our economy

    Climate change is a reality that ripples through the conservation issues the Outdoor Council has been engaged in for decades. It is something that our founder, Tom Bell, understood early on and urged us to address directly.

    If we cannot find ways to address and mitigate this looming crisis and do our part as a state, our conservation work in all of our traditional program areas will fall short. 

    Tackling climate issues in Wyoming will require hard and honest conversations about the dependency of our state’s economy on fossil fuels, and it will require creativity and investment into bold new ideas. The new front line for conservation means wading into policy issues that, at least on the surface, seem less directly tied to it — like helping communities transition from fossil fuels, promoting economic diversification, and supporting new sources of state revenue. As daunting and intimidating as this might feel, we believe it’s critical. Our state’s economy and conservation policies are interconnected. Wyoming’s outsized influence on climate change means that the policies and actions we take in our communities can have national — even global — impacts. 

    Scholarships support students committed to conservation

    Posted on by John Burrows

    This year the Wyoming Outdoor Council is proud to award $1,500 scholarships to five graduating high school seniors from Wyoming — who all have demonstrated a commitment to conservation values and protecting Wyoming’s environment and quality of life. The five students plan to study a wide range of topics in conservation and resource management and will be pursuing related degrees. These scholarships were made possible thanks to the generous support of the Blue Ridge Fund of Wyoming. Congratulations! 

    • Tessa Coughenour (Natrona County High School) will study environmental design at Montana State University.
    • Parker Goodwin (Cody High School) will study engineering at the University of Wyoming.
    • Mallie Gray (Natrona County High School) will study reclamation and restoration ecology at the University of Wyoming.
    • Kai Lynn (Cody High School) will study biology at Northwest College with plans to transfer to the University of Wyoming to complete a degree in wildlife biology. 
    • Rachel Stoinski (Lander Valley High School) will study wildlife and fisheries biology and  management at the University of Wyoming

    We will continue to offer these scholarships each year to help support the next generation of conservation-minded Wyomingites. If you know a young person who may qualify, please spread the word and watch for the next opportunity to apply in early 2021.