Lands

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This month, Sen. John Barrasso introduced, and Sen. Mike Enzi co-sponsored, a reckless measure to advance the Trump administration’s disastrous doctrine of “energy dominance” over all other uses on public lands.

The “Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act,” or the ONSHORE Act (S. 2319), hands federal oil and gas drilling permit authority and duties to individual states. Sen. Barrasso claims this is a remedy to “punishing regulation and permitting delays” for oil and gas development on federal lands. Yet the legislation’s supposed remedy actually raises more questions than it answers.

The language of the bill is so vague that it’s unclear whether the states that choose to take on issuing federal permits to drill will also conduct the normal federal review and public comment process that all Americans have been afforded for decades.

Far from providing more certainty and faster permitting, if the ONSHORE Act is implemented states would have to dig deep into their budgets to hire new staff to take on the additional workload. It’s also unclear whether a state would accept new legal and environmental cleanup liabilities that usually belong to the federal government.

Federal permitting is not the problem. The challenge is in managing large and complex development projects. The remedy for that is to provide federal agencies with the expert staff and resources required to carry out the duties that reflect American values for our public lands.

Polling consistently shows that Americans favor protecting our public lands for wildlife and recreation over energy development. Instead of reflecting these values, the ONSHORE Act looks like part of the Trump administration’s plan for energy dominance over all other uses on public lands.

Rep. Liz Cheney introduced an even worse version of the ONSHORE Act in October. Development proposals ought to be considered as efficiently as possible, and not expedited at the cost of public input and thorough review. The Outdoor Council believes that our congressional delegates would serve Wyoming’s interest best by supporting adequate funding and autonomy to federal agencies that are legally bound to manage public lands in the interest of all Americans, and in coordination with local input.

Far from perfect, Wyoming can be confident of its own agencies’ abilities to manage oil and gas activities that fall under state authority. Wyoming can do its best in managing these activities when it can work with federal counterparts that are adequately funded and not interfered with by a top-down approach to resource management.

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“The president stole your land.” That’s the stark message today over at patagonia.com.

We join Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and the vast majority of our fellow citizens to express our deep disapproval of President Trump’s recent decision to shrink the boundaries of two national monuments. His unprecedented move reduces Bears Ears National Monument by more than 1 million acres—or 85 percent, and it removes 900,000 acres from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument—effectively halving it.

These monuments are in Utah, but make no mistake: they belong to all of us. They are part of the proud legacy of public land ownership all Americans enjoy.  

Wyoming is home to our nation’s first national monument, Devils Tower. It’s also home to our first national forest and national park—the Shoshone and Yellowstone. At the Outdoor Council, we believe public lands are worth fighting for. They are essential to our quality of life today, and they’re a vital legacy to pass on to our kids and grandkids tomorrow.

At our 50th anniversary celebration in Lander this past September, we honored Yvon Chouinard with the Tom Bell Legacy Award. This award celebrated Yvon’s lifelong commitment to public lands, wildlife, and clean air and water. With that award, and now, we want to express our deep gratitude for Yvon’s and Patagonia’s unwavering support of grassroots conservation groups like ours—and the public lands we’re all working to protect.

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Last week, we sent a letter to Representative Liz Cheney opposing draft legislation that would transfer management authority for oil and gas permitting on federal lands to the states while allowing energy developers to circumvent our nation’s bedrock environmental policy law.

The so-called ONSHORE Act (Opportunities for the Nation and State to Harness Onshore Resources Act) is now before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. If adopted, it would remove essential checks—including public input—that help create a balance between development and conservation on public lands.

Behind the ONSHORE Act is the complaint by some lawmakers that the permitting process for oil and gas development on federal land takes more time than on state or private land. But there’s good reason for this: these are lands owned by all Americans (not energy companies or other private entities) and they are managed for more than one use. Overseeing and analyzing the potential environmental harms of energy development on public health and important shared resources is going, by necessity, to take time.

Even so, there are ways of making the federal leasing and permitting process more efficient without abandoning our collective responsibility to protect the environment, as the ONSHORE Act would do.

In Wyoming and in the United States, we value our public lands for family outings, hunting, fishing, and camping. We also treasure wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Far from being at odds with economic development, these are values that attract and retain workers and greatly enhance our quality of life. People want to live and work in Wyoming and other places with accessible public lands because they know they and their children will breathe clear air, drink clean water, and experience unparalleled opportunities for recreation and exploration.

As we shared with Representative Cheney, the Wyoming Outdoor Council unequivocally opposes the ONSHORE Act because giving management authority to the states would eliminate essential public involvement—including Wyoming voices—in the process of issuing drilling permits. It would also allow states to make these decisions without first considering the potential environmental harms of oil and gas development on public health, wildlife, and other important shared resources.

Please contact Representative Cheney and tell her you oppose the ONSHORE Act.

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I’ve been lucky to be able to spend several days this summer in the northern Red Desert, sharing this phenomenal place with representatives of state and federal agencies, local governments, and Sweetwater County residents. We admired the desert’s remarkable views together, had rich discussions, and saw plenty of big game—including desert elk, trophy mule deer, and pronghorn bucks. No matter how many times I visit, I can’t say it enough: the northern Red Desert is a spectacular place.

To help you get out into this landscape and experience its wonders, we’ve created this newly released travel guide, which is flying off the shelves. It explains how to get into the Wilderness Study Areas for Honeycomb Buttes, Oregon Buttes, and Whitehorse Creek. If you don’t have one, be in touch and we’ll mail one to you! It’ll fit right in your glovebox and features travel tips and detailed driving directions for each of these three spots, all of which are an easy drive from Lander, Rock Springs, or Pinedale.

This summer we picnicked beneath the aspens, kicked around in the dunes, and gazed across the Great Divide Basin with government and agency officials who are working closely with the Bureau of Land Management on its land-use plan revision for this area. Most of the northern Red Desert is off-limits to oil and gas development, and we want to keep it that way—because just some places are appropriate for development, other places, like the northern Red Desert, should simply never be developed because of their incredible wildlife, ecological, and recreational values. We also want to ensure other industrial activities, like big wind farms, don’t damage this landscape. Getting out of the office so we could shoot the breeze with these officials has facilitated constructive dialogue and everyone has learned from each other while enjoying the outdoors. The better we understand each other’s points of view, the more hope we have for a durable and balanced plan.

We hosted our final summer field tour on September 9, but keep an eye out next spring for more guided trips to the northern Red Desert badlands, buttes, and dunes. We hear every day from people who want to take another tour, who think fondly of those they’ve been on, and who have returned to the desert on their own to find elk, fossils, adventure, and solitude. There’s nothing like discussing the ecology, geology, and history of the desert while exploring it. If you can’t wait until the spring, check out our online, interactive map, which discusses all the remarkable areas of the desert and includes stunning images that will inspire you to explore.

As we finished our tour last Saturday, we saw a few bow-hunters—recreation and hunting in the desert is a major boost for local economies, as a recent report has revealed. For the first time, researchers have quantified the economic impact of “quiet” recreation on public lands around Rock Springs and Green River. This new report, which was commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts, found that “in 2015, more than 483,000 visitors used these landscapes for non-motorized recreational activities, contributing $22 million to the local economy.” It also concluded that this quiet recreation adds 285 jobs to the region, which is great news in a time when economic diversification will be key for Wyoming’s future. We were excited, too, to help connect local business owners, like State Senator Liisa Anselmi-Dalton and Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce CEO Dave Hanks, with media outlets covering this story.

Beyond our field tours, we continue to help citizens in the area understand how to be involved in the decisions federal land management agencies make—and we advocate the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s mission tirelessly. Along with this area’s land-use plan revision, we are tracking a number of other public land issues happening in Sweetwater County, such as the Fontenelle Dam Project, Bitter Creek Watershed Study, and the Ashley National Forest plan revision (which includes the Flaming Gorge). These are all important to the people here in southwest Wyoming, and to others who come from elsewhere to enjoy these landscapes. We will let you know when the time comes to speak up on these things as well. Until then, happy fall and keep enjoying your public lands!

It’s been a busy end of the summer for the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition. Events in Laramie and Jackson together brought out some 600 people—a testament to how important public lands are to our quality of life and economy in Wyoming. These events and another upcoming one in Sheridan on September 30 are working.

We are not likely to see legislative attempts at the wholesale transfer of our public lands anytime soon. Thanks to engaged citizens like you, these lawmakers have gotten the message loud and clear. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other equally bad ideas. One, the Federal Lands Freedom Act H.R 3565, co-sponsored by our own Rep. Liz Cheney would turn over decisions about oil and gas leasing and permitting on BLM and national forest lands to the states. Bills like this one would be disastrous for recreation, wildlife, and balanced multiple uses of our public lands. The states could override the current multiple use mandate on our public lands in favor of drilling and other industrial uses. We will continue to track bad bills like this and offer ways for you to voice your opposition.

The Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition has drafted state-level legislation that we hope will find sponsors and pass this session. The bill states that “efforts to transfer large tracts of the federal public lands in this State into private or state control are contrary to the wishes of Wyoming people and the democratic values of freedom and access that define our Equality State.” It would also dedicate a new Wyoming state holiday: Public Lands Day to highlight the importance of public lands to the state, encourage volunteer stewardship activities and encourage schools to participate with a day off as a hunting and outdoor recreation day for our state’s school-age children.

Ever been curious about what was happening on the other side of the lens at the moment a particularly gorgeous shot was snapped? So have we, because we know that simply looking at a picture only tells part of its story. For this picture, the story begins in the northern Red Desert.

If you’ve ever taken part in our annual Run the Red trail race, you’ve left your own footprints behind in the sand of this vast, scenic landscape. If you’ve never been to this area of Wyoming, we assure you it’s an experience you’ll never forget—especially if you get to hear the Killpecker sand dunes sing.

The science behind their song is simple—the round, highly polished grains of sand are stimulated by movement, such as footfalls or wind, and their “voice” is created as a result—but the effect is nothing short of magical.

It was in the midst of this majestic landscape that Colorado-based conservation photographer Dave Showalter snapped the striking shot above.

(You may remember seeing it as a featured image in our 2014 “Celebrating the Red Desert” calendar.)

On the morning he captured this image, Dave had headed out into the Killpecker dune fields in search of seasonal “dunal ponds,” which are naturally formed in the spring when embedded ice crystals in the sand begin to melt.

Going into the shoot, Dave had hoped to get a few shots of high-desert wildlife quenching their thirst at one such pond; although he didn’t find quite what he was looking for, he found something just as captivating.

“Well into the dune field, I realized the ponds had dried for the season and I turned to see my tracks leading from the Boar’s Tusk. It’s a different take on an iconic and sacred Wyoming landmark in an ecologically sensitive place, with tracks lending a feeling of being there.

One learns to expect surprises and take what nature gives you in such a dynamic landscape. On a windless night, with just a few distant songbirds breaking the silence, I lingered until the light had long faded—one of the most gorgeous evenings I’ve ever spent in the outdoors.”

The Red Desert has always held a special place in the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s heart; in fact, we’ve been working to protect it since our inception in 1967. It’s the landscape where Wyoming native Tom Bell—decorated World War II veteran and this organization’s founder—experienced solace after the war when his plane was shot down; he lost an eye, and nearly lost his life as well.

It was in Wyoming’s wild landscapes that Tom found spiritual and psychological healing, and his life-changing experience in the Red Desert inspired him to create the Outdoor Council to protect the Desert and similar places for future generations.

Photographers like Dave help us to continue this work in Tom’s memory by ensuring that some of our state’s most stunning moments and places are captured forever and illustrated for the world to see—and it’s thanks to passionate members like you that these sacred Wyoming landscapes will be protected for future generations to enjoy.