In the days since the Wyoming Legislature adjourned at the close of the 2020 budget session, the political and social reality of our state has shifted drastically, as we all face the public health and economic threats posed by COVID-19.
FIELD NOTES

LUCAS SCHWANDT: Wyoming needs leaders
After growing up in South Dakota and serving in the Marine Corps, I got my first brush with the beautiful state of Wyoming. Since then, I have been a carpenter in Cody, a gunsmith in Meeteetse and a student in Lander. During my time here, I’ve fallen in love with Wyoming. I’ve spent time hiking, biking, climbing, and skiing. I’ve spent even more time forming relationships with the wonderful people who live here. Now, as a 30-year-old, I am ready to settle down and start a life somewhere. I’m not sure, however, if Wyoming can be — or is — that place. For the time being, I have decided to stay and try to make it work, but just a few weeks ago, I wasn’t so sure.
KARA COLOVICH: Connected, unified, strong — The Wyoming I want to see
Over the past couple of months, my partner and I have made some pivotal life decisions. Like many millennials, we face daunting pressures to get advanced degrees (and burden ourselves with enormous amounts of debt), chase high-paying jobs, move to the big city, and save up for our first house in the midst of a difficult financial market. We were succumbing to these pressures, but it didn’t align with the vision we had for ourselves. Where was the small farm with a greenhouse, chickens, and goats? Where was the deer salami and smoked trout hanging in the cellar?
WADE LIPPINCOTT: Outdoor recreation is the future
When I was growing up in Thermopolis, I spent my time fishing, hunting, and running wild in the Owl Creek Range. When we weren’t doing any of that, we were either in the canyon, floating the river, cliff jumping, racing BMX bikes, or climbing.
LARRY WOLFE: For Wyoming, change is coming. Can the Wyoming Outdoor Council help lead the way?
I came to Wyoming in 1974 and stayed because its future looked promising. The prairies of Campbell County were sprouting surface coal mines, and new power plants were being built to burn the millions of tons that the massive mines produced. Oil and gas had long been here, but we did not yet know of the bounties that fracking, coal bed methane and interstate pipelines would bring. In a state so friendly to the energy industry it was easy to be convinced that riding the coattails of the coming booms would make for a good career. That proved to be true and Wyoming treated me very well.
Local input essential for development on federal public lands
For the first time in history, the federal government has proposed significant rollbacks to how the National Environmental Policy Act reviews the environmental impacts of development on public lands.
Your voice made a difference for Boysen; and we need it again!
In late December, Gov. Mark Gordon released a draft executive order that would dictate how Wyoming designates and manages big game migration corridors.
We’re working for a strong executive order to protect migration corridors — you can help
In late December, Gov. Mark Gordon released a draft executive order that would dictate how Wyoming designates and manages big game migration corridors.
Charting a path for Wyoming
In the Winter 2020 issue of Frontline, we address the future of Wyoming in the context of the ever-growing threat of climate change, and the associated impacts that market shifts are having on our communities.
Be the voice of conservation at the Wyoming Legislature
Each year the Wyoming State Legislature has the opportunity to pass bills that reflect our state’s shared conservation, outdoor recreation, and good governance values — or threaten them.