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.

Legislative Lowdown: How did conservation fare at the 2025 Wyoming Legislature?

Posted on by John Burrows

Just like that, the 2025 Wyoming Legislature has come to a close.

Over eight frenzied weeks, lawmakers debated hundreds of bills. Some made it into law, while the vast majority met their end. Now that the dust has settled, how did it all shake out for Wyoming’s lands, waters, wildlife, climate, and communities?

More than anything, this session was defined by the bills that never made it to the governor’s desk. Of the 22 priority bills that WOC engaged on, only four were signed into law. Whether you followed every moment or are just tuning in, here’s a look at this year’s conservation wins and losses.

RADIOACTIVE RECKONING: NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE BILLS FAIL

Before the session even convened in mid-January, WOC’s legislative team had a watchful eye on House Bill 16. By redefining high-level waste to exclude spent nuclear fuel (which is by no means safe!), HB16 would have opened the door for Wyoming to “temporarily” store the country’s radioactive waste.

Thanks to overwhelming pushback from WOC supporters and others, HB16 died when the House Minerals Committee voted to table it. The failure of this bill represented an important victory for Wyoming’s environment, and for the future generations who would be shouldered with waste that turned out to be permanent rather than temporary — which very likely would have been the case.

The House Minerals Committee also voted against Senate File 186, another bill concerning temporary nuclear waste storage, citing the need for more information and public comment on such an important topic. HB16 and SF186 may not have survived this session, but policies embracing nuclear, including storage of nuclear waste, have momentum and will likely be discussed in this interim and future sessions. We’ll continue to keep a close eye on them.

ROOFTOP SOLAR’S ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

The session was a rollercoaster ride for rooftop solar and net metering, the policy that allows rooftop solar customers to be credited for power they generate but don’t use. We celebrated the early death of Senate File 111, a bad bill that would have made it harder and more uncertain for Wyomingites to invest in rooftop solar.

The path of House Bill 183 was a little more complicated: In its original form, HB183 would have expanded access to rooftop solar — but a poison pill amendment passed by the Senate Minerals Committee would have stripped key protections for rooftop solar owners. Because of this, and a number of other bad amendments that eroded the benefits and intent of the bill, we were glad to see HB183 meet its end in a close vote on the Senate Floor.

It’s important to note that the debate around net metering was different then in previous years. Although it was frustrating to see HB183 take a wrong turn, the strong bipartisan and community backing for rooftop solar highlights the progress we’ve made in the nine years since the discussion around net metering resurfaced at the legislature.

ANTI-PUBLIC LANDS MEASURES DEFEATED

The shortsighted effort to transfer public lands to state ownership has reared its ugly head again in states across the West. Senate Joint Resolution 2 demanded that Congress hand over all federal public lands in Wyoming (except for Yellowstone) to the state. While SJ2 wouldn’t create any law, it threatened the management of Wyoming’s public lands and urged Congress to take dangerous actions. In a dramatic sequence of events, SJ2 failed in a Senate vote, then was revived — before, thankfully, dying for good.

The legislature considered other anti-public lands bills, too: Senate File 105 would have limited opportunities for new public lands access and eroded private property rights. Similarly, House Bill 118 would have restricted future common sense land exchanges or sales that increased the percentage of federal public lands in Wyoming. Like SJ2, we’re glad to report that these bills died this session.

If you spoke out against any of these measures, thank you! The threats to our irreplaceable public lands are far from vanquished — but together, we’ll keep reminding decision makers how much these landscapes mean to Wyomingites and our quality of life.

In fact, you can take action on behalf of our public lands right now: Tell Wyoming’s congressional delegation that you oppose the mass layoffs of our public lands stewards — sign the letter now!

WILDFIRE RESTORATION FUNDING SURVIVES—WITH CUTS

After last year’s devastating fires in northeast Wyoming, Gov. Gordon requested $130 million to fend off an impending barrage of invasive grasses. After funding was slashed early in the session, Senate File 148 offered a way forward, reinstating the $130 million request and acting as an insurance policy against future attacks on these vital dollars.

But as the session hurtled toward its final days, senators threw funding priorities into chaos when they decided not to pass a supplemental budget. A compromise bill, Senate File 152, provided just shy of $50 million, rather than the original $130 million request, for invasive weed control, and gained approval from both the House and the Senate. Money for landscape restoration is sorely needed to maintain rangeland health and protect against future catastrophic wildfires. You can expect to see the discussion around these funds pick back up next year.

WINS FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND TRIBAL NOTIFICATION

We saw important progress this session on tribal cultural preservation and notification: Senate File 91 strengthens protections for cultural resources by making the vandalism of petroglyphs and other historic inscriptions on state lands a criminal offense. Senate File 16 ensures tribal governments are notified of industrial siting permit applications and acknowledges their stake in development decisions, but falls short of granting tribes formal participation in the permitting process.

Both bills, which were supported by the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone governments, made it to the governor’s desk and were signed into law!

FUNDS SECURED FOR CONSERVATION PROJECTS

Each year, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust invests in important conservation projects that improve watershed health, strengthen wildlife habitat, and benefit communities. Senate File 88 was the approval package for 11 such projects across the state, representing the largest annual investment the WWNRT has proposed to date.

We were excited to see near unanimous support for SF88 along its journey through both chambers and to the governor’s desk, where it was eventually signed into law. Now, Wyoming will see $16.4 million for wildlife, rangeland, and watershed projects in the next fiscal year.

From the entire team at WOC, a sincere thank you for sticking with us this session — and for your engagement throughout. Your many messages to legislators, your questions, and your support helped push many of the bills we’ve touched on above (and others we weren’t able to discuss here) in the right direction.

Next up: Keep an eye out for our Conservation Vote Report in the coming weeks, which dives deeper into the year’s most important bills. And there will be plenty of opportunities to stay engaged during the interim, when committees will pick up the discussions around nuclear waste storage and public lands issues, among other topics.

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Legislative Lowdown: Rooftop solar bill now includes a poison pill

Posted on by John Burrows

It’s crunch time at the Capitol as we enter the final two weeks of the 2025 Wyoming state legislative session.

Some bills are making their way to the governor’s desk for signature, while others will fall by the wayside if they miss key deadlines this Thursday and Friday. As these deadlines approach, we’re watching closely and will be ready to spring into action to support conservation priorities and fight back against threats.

Read on to find out where things stand and how you can help.

‘POISON PILL’ INCLUDED IN ROOFTOP SOLAR BILL

Rooftop solar advocates across the state were frustrated last week when House Bill 183, the net metering bill we’ve been supporting, was amended in the Senate Minerals Committee. The amendment strips key protections for existing and future rooftop solar owners by allowing utilities to impose additional fees on these customers.

In its earlier form, HB183 would have made rooftop solar more accessible for ranchers, schools, local governments, and businesses. Now, WOC and others are working to see what, if anything, can be done to reverse this amendment on the Senate floor.

If this bill passes the Senate with different language than was passed out of the House, the two chambers must resolve the differences before this bill is sent to the governor’s desk. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this bill!

ANOTHER NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE BILL DIES

Last Wednesday, the House Minerals Committee rejected Senate File 186, another bill concerning the temporary storage of nuclear waste in Wyoming, in a 3–5 vote. Similar to House Bill 16 earlier in the session, we were impressed by the excellent questions this committee raised in an attempt to better understand the potential impacts of the nuclear industry in Wyoming.

The committee decided that before passing a bill on such a consequential topic, more information and public engagement was needed. It is very likely that we will see the topic of nuclear storage reemerge during the interim. For now, read about the committee’s discussion on SF186 here.

HONORING THE PAST, SHAPING THE FUTURE

We’re glad to share that two bills addressing tribal cultural preservation and tribal notification are moving forward! Senate File 91, which protects cultural resources by criminalizing the vandalism of petroglyphs and other historic inscriptions on state lands, passed the Senate and is now in the House Appropriations Committee. This bill creates a misdemeanor offense for such vandalism and signals a commitment to preserving these irreplaceable sites.

Senate File 16 mandates that tribal governments be informed of industrial siting permit applications and acknowledges their stake in development decisions (though it does not grant them formal participation in the permitting process). SF16 was passed by both the Senate and House and is headed towards the governor’s desk. Both of these bills are supported by the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone governments.

LARGE PROJECT FUNDING HEADED TO GOVERNOR’S DESK

In a legislative body that is often divided, it was gratifying to see widespread support last week for wildlife and natural resource project funding. Elected officials across both chambers voted with near unanimity in favor of Senate File 88, a package of large-scale projects funded by the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust.

With the bill heading to the governor’s desk for a signature, we can look forward to $16.4 million in funding for projects that will benefit Wyoming’s wildlife, rangelands, and watersheds in the coming fiscal year.

WOC started off this year’s session with 22 priority bills. We’re pleased to report that of the bills we’ve opposed, the majority have died — and it looks promising that several of the remaining bad bills will miss key deadlines this week. Of the 10 bills we’re still actively tracking, seven of these are bills we’ve been supporting.

With two more weeks of the session remaining, the dust is starting to settle. Although it’s still too soon to celebrate, the view from our perspective isn’t too bad … and that’s due in no small part to your continued engagement! As always, thank you for your support.

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Image: Meghan Riley

Legislative Lowdown: Updates on rooftop solar, mining operations, and more

Posted on by John Burrows

This post was originally published on January 24, 2025.

It’s been an eventful second week at the Capitol — and although this session feels slightly slower-paced than previous years, the need for citizen action is as urgent as ever. Now and in the coming week, we need your voice to protect our shared interests in Cheyenne!

Read on for key updates and ways you can help.

COMMITTEE WEIGHS ROOFTOP SOLAR BILL

This morning, the Senate Corporations Committee discussed Senate File 111, a bad bill that makes it harder for Wyomingites to invest in rooftop solar. The bill also gives utilities more control over how property owners are compensated for the electricity they generate using their own rooftop solar systems.

The committee was running behind schedule today and wasn’t able to hear all the public comment on this bill — so they’ll resume the discussion Monday morning. This gives us another chance to defend rooftop solar in Wyoming. If you haven’t yet, please take a few minutes to tell committee members why rooftop solar is important to you!

A big thank you to the many people who already took action. Together, we can protect Wyomingites’ energy independence!

Oh, and one final thing: SF111 is one of two bills related to rooftop solar that we’re tracking. Keep an eye out for updates on the other, HB183, as early as next week.

ANTI-PUBLIC LANDS BILL ADVANCES

House Bill 118, which would block future public lands acquisitions, passed the House of Representatives this week. This egregious bill would prevent the state from negotiating land exchanges that could benefit Wyoming’s education system, such as the Kelly Parcel sale. If passed, HB118 would even prevent private landowners from selling or donating their land to become public lands.

It’s clear that some legislators are dead set on preventing future public lands deals while also telling landowners who they can and can’t sell their property to. We won’t stand for it: As the bill moves to the Senate, we’ll be watching closely and calling on you to step up for public lands. Keep an eye out for alerts!

LMO BILL MOVES FORWARD

House Bill 10, which expands the types of minerals that are exempt from mine permitting, advanced through the House Minerals Committee this week. Though the bill has been improved, we’re still concerned about threats to land and water quality posed by the inclusion of hard rock minerals in Limited Mining Operations, or LMOs. The bill is also problematic for adjacent landowners — with LMOs, there are no opportunities for the public to weigh in on potential impacts, including noise disturbance, dust, and impacts on property values.

Despite testimony from concerned residents and conservation organizations, the committee passed the bill on an 8-1 vote. We’ll be monitoring this bill as it moves through the House and seeking opportunities to amend it to protect landowners and Wyoming communities.

WHITTLING AWAY AT WILDFIRE RELIEF

After last year’s catastrophic wildfires that decimated northeast Wyoming rangelands, Gov. Gordon requested $130 million in his supplemental budget for restoration, invasive grass management, and support for affected communities. Unfortunately, this week the Joint Appropriations Committee slashed $30 million from this request and moved to make these funds available only as loans.

This shortsighted amendment hurts Wyoming’s wildlife and people and we’ll do what we can to fight back against these cuts. Read more here. If you’re in eastern Wyoming, you can hear directly from the governor about the urgent need for wildfire restoration at one of three public meetings in Gillette, Sheridan, and Wheatland on Monday, January 27.

VITAL FUNDING CLEARS COMMITTEE

Every year, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust helps fund exceptional projects across the state to improve watershed heath, shore up wildlife habitat, and benefit communities. This year, WWNRT is seeking legislative approval for 11 projects that would combat cheatgrass, restore rangelands and rivers, and build wildlife crossing structures.

The bill concerning these projects, Senate File 88, passed its first hurdle yesterday, with the Senate Travel, Wildlife, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Committee voting unanimously in favor. The next stop for this bill is the Joint Appropriations Committee.

Monday will mark the session’s third week, which means we’re in the thick of it! Our legislative team will continue sharing updates and keeping you informed about opportunities for action. Keep an eye out for more, and as always — let us know if you have questions. We’re always here for a conversation.

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Image: Meghan Riley

Why we’re concerned about nuclear waste storage in Wyoming: A deeper dive

Posted on by John Burrows

When the 2025 General Session kicks off next week, the debate over nuclear waste storage is set to become a hot (dare we say radioactive?) topic. In preparation, we wanted to share the latest information about the current proposal to store the country’s nuclear waste in Wyoming — and why we plan to oppose it.

Wyoming has stood firm against nuclear waste storage for decades, and for many good reasons. We’re concerned about the current proposal because the consequences of transporting and storing high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming would be significant, multi-generational, and perhaps even permanent.

Concerned about nuclear waste storage in Wyoming? Join our list to stay informed as this bill moves through the legislature.

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The draft bill, which has been received for introduction as House Bill 16 – Used nuclear fuel storage-amendments, could move quickly into the house Minerals Committee. If it does, we’ll need your voice to help stop it. So without further ado, let’s dive into the bill and our key reasons for opposing this effort to site nuclear waste in Wyoming.

  • This bill has moved forward with remarkably little opportunity for public engagement for such a significant and consequential issue. Initial public review of the draft bill wasn’t available until less than two weeks before its first and only discussion in the October 2024 Minerals Committee meeting. Opening the door to invite nuclear waste to Wyoming should not be a legislative afterthought and last-minute committee sponsored bill. We believe this is a topic that should require many discussions and seek robust public participation similar to what we saw in the early 1990s.
  • We need to be realistic that once nuclear waste is here temporarily, it will be here to stay. It has become clear to us based on the failings of federal policies, that a “temporary” facility would become a de facto permanent repository, as no legal, political, or financial mechanisms exist to ensure its removal. Despite decades of efforts from the federal government, the fact remains that there is still no permanent disposal solution for this waste. In fact, creating temporary storage for this waste in Wyoming could undermine the political will needed to pursue a safe permanent solution to this issue.
  • The history of nuclear waste storage in our country is fraught with broken promises by our federal government to both states and tribes. When we consider a half-century of missed timelines, changing scientific guidelines, and disregard of state and tribal sovereignty that has plagued the full supply chain of nuclear energy from cradle to grave, we can find very few reasons to trust the federal government that it has the best interest of Wyoming and the Wind River Reservation in mind. In 1992, this was one of Gov. Sullivan’s key points when rejecting further study of a Department of Energy proposed monitored retrievable nuclear storage site in Wyoming. In a letter, he stated,

“I am absolutely unpersuaded that Wyoming can rely on the assurances we receive from the federal government. Even granting the personal integrity and sincerity of the individuals currently speaking for the federal government, there can be no guarantees or even assurances that the federal government’s attitudes or policies will be the same one, five, ten or 50 years from now.”

  • A rush to designate Wyoming as the country’s nuclear waste storage capital could have both real and perceived consequences to other industries and the state’s broader economic diversification efforts. Numerous states have rejected advances by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to store nuclear waste, citing concerns around their reputation and damage to other economic sectors. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbot raised concerns over a facility because of potential risks it could pose to the state’s oil and gas development in the Permian Basin. (The Nuclear Regulatory Commission permitted this over his objections anyway.) In other states such as Tennessee, New Mexico, and Nevada, studies have confirmed negative impacts to other economic sectors like agriculture, outdoor recreation, tourism, and resident property values. If Wyoming legislators want to take the title of being the country’s nuclear waste dump, we need to be clear-eyed about how this could negatively impact our reputation and other economic sectors.
  • The risks of transporting and storing nuclear waste from around the country amount to an unprecedented, unnecessary national experiment. Nuclear waste is currently stored safely at reactor sites, where it is generated, as required by federal law. This would also be true for any nuclear facility built in Wyoming. This is the right place for this waste to remain until a permanent solution can be found. It does not make sense to transport and move this hazardous material twice across thousands of miles of interstate highways, city and county roads, and railways.

If you share our concerns, we could use your help. Tell your legislators that you oppose nuclear dumps in Wyoming, and sign up here to be notified with alerts as this bill moves through the legislature.

Looking for more information? Check out our nuclear waste storage fact sheet, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a conversation.

Image: ShinRyu Forgers | Wikimedia Commons CC

INVITING NUCLEAR WASTE RISKS FEDERAL OVERREACH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HARM

Posted on by John Burrows

Some bad ideas refuse to die — and the recent legislative push to make Wyoming a temporary location for the nation’s high-level radioactive waste is definitely one of them.

Over the last three decades, the Wyoming Legislature has discussed rolling out the red carpet for nuclear waste several times. Now, that discussion promises to rear its head once again when the 2025 General Session begins in January.

Just as we have in the past, WOC opposes this latest proposal, which would make it easier to store high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming. It’s not a position we take lightly: As an independent, statewide organization, we understand the challenges associated with diversifying our economy and the need for solutions that address complex energy and environmental challenges, which are often at odds with one another.

As one of the most regulated materials known to humankind, inviting high-level nuclear waste to Wyoming would also invite an unprecedented level of federal oversight and regulation not seen before in Wyoming. For this reason and others discussed here, we strongly believe that inviting this waste to Wyoming would be a poor decision that could jeopardize our environment, communities, state sovereignty, and future hopes of broader economic diversification.

Concerned about nuclear waste storage in Wyoming? Join our list to stay informed as this bill moves through the legislature.

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Wyoming has held the line against nuclear waste storage for decades. Before we get to the current proposal, let’s take a look at some highlights from Wyoming’s long and proud history of rejecting nuclear waste dumps.

  • 1991: The U.S. Department of Energy proposes a “Monitored Retrievable Storage” nuclear waste facility in Wyoming. Gov. Mike Sullivan ended the project a year later, citing numerous concerns around transportation safety, the failures of the federal government as a trusted partner, and potential damage to other industries.
  • 1994: A University of Wyoming poll shows that more than 80 percent of residents opposed nuclear waste storage in Wyoming.
  • 1995: The Wyoming legislature passes laws regulating private and federal nuclear waste storage facilities. Importantly, they include safeguards to ensure Wyoming does not become a de facto permanent repository site.
  • 1998: Gov. Jim Geringer shuts down a proposal for a private nuclear waste storage facility.
  • 2010: The decades-long effort by the federal government to create a permanent nuclear disposal facility for high level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain Nevada ended, mainly for political reasons.
  • 2019: The Wyoming legislature’s Spent Fuel Rods Subcommittee studies the revenue opportunity for waste storage. Because of restrictions and limited funds provided in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, they abandon the effort.

The current attempt to bring nuclear waste to Wyoming comes from a bill sponsored by the Joint Minerals Committee that changes the definition of “high-level nuclear waste” to exclude “spent nuclear fuel.” This definition change would create a loophole to circumvent our existing laws that require extensive environmental protections and requirements for public comment and legislative approval for the storage of high-level radioactive waste.

Call it what you like — but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Legislators can change the definition of “high level nuclear waste,” but spent nuclear fuel is still high level nuclear waste, and “spent” does not equal safe. The definition change is out of sync with the definition held by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, setting the stage for conflict with the federal agency created to regulate high-level radioactive waste — do we really want to invite more uncertainty in management, jeopardizing land, water, wildlife and communities?

If you share our concerns, we could use your help. Tell your legislators that you oppose nuclear dumps in Wyoming, and sign up here to be notified with alerts as this bill moves through the legislature.

Looking for more information? Check out our nuclear waste storage fact sheet. Finally, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a conversation.

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.