Many legislative committees have already launched into their “interim” work (the rest of the year between winter sessions), and we’ve been traveling the state to attend the public hearings and advocate for smart conservation policy.
FIELD NOTES

We’re shaping legislative policy year-round
Thanks to your quick action, the Joint Minerals Committee backed off from a proposal for the State of Wyoming to take over the federal process of evaluating and making recommendations for oil and gas developments and other industrial projects on public lands in Wyoming. Thank you!
Safeguarded: Prime wildlife habitat in Little Snake River Valley
Some good news to report! Oil and gas operator Greater Rocky Mountain Resources has abandoned plans to drill more than a dozen wells in some of the most important and sensitive wildlife habitat in the state.
WOC’s legislative interns take the capitol!
Conservation had some great wins at the 2019 legislative session! In addition to the creation of our first-ever Wyoming Public Lands Day, we saw the passage of several important bills that better fund and protect our natural resources. Plus, every bad bill that we opposed was defeated. Wyoming Outdoor Council staff spent many weeks and […]
Member Profile: Day Scott
Listen to naturalist, outdoor educator, and new WOC member Day Scott talk about her journey from Los Angeles to Wyoming and it’s clear she’s hardwired to forge connections and build community. In the six months since moving to Lander, Day has become a regular volunteer and photographer with a pet rescue organization, helped out at […]
Learning the art of advocacy
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.19.9″ background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.9″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.9″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] Citizen advocates converge for WOC’s inaugural Conservation Leadership Institute On a November evening at the Lander Library, Mike Burd, a sportsman and trona miner from Green River, spoke to a group of 17 students about the value of […]
Wyoming must do more to protect mule deer migrations
Wyoming has been in the world spotlight since the discovery of the longest known mule deer migration, which runs 150 miles between the northern Red Desert and the Upper Hoback. That such an ancient migration still exists — despite roads, fences, housing, energy development, and other human activities — is amazing. And new science is […]
An update: our ongoing efforts to protect Wyoming’s migration corridors
These past few months, we’ve been asking the state to urge the Bureau of Land Management to take a more precautionary approach to oil and gas leasing in migration corridors until legally binding wildlife protections can be put into place. New and existing science clearly shows that drilling in migration corridors is bad for mule […]
Conserving Greater sage-grouse requires more than lip service
That’s why the Wyoming Outdoor Council is closely examining plans to expand uranium mining in prime sage-grouse habitat in the remote Great Divide Basin in south-central Wyoming. Recent mining activities here have already “moderately” degraded the habitat, and a proposal to expand the mining operation would nearly double the area already disturbed.
Bonnie Hofbauer; 27 years at the Wyoming Outdoor Council
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.5″] Since 1991, Bonnie Hofbauer has served as the beating heart of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. As office manager she’s kept computers, phones, copiers, and databases humming in tune — from the days when there was only one box-like Mac computer in the office to the age of smartphones. But it’s her […]