THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT finalized several reforms to its onshore oil and gas program today, as part of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s promise to change how the Department of the Interior does business, according to a media release from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The reforms will improve environmental protection […]

SIXTY FORMER FEDERAL AND STATE OFFICIALS sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today, supporting his intention to reform onshore oil and gas leasing. Please click here, or on the image to the right, to read the letter. Nobody understands the issues and challenges of oil and gas development better than those […]

THE WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL and several other conservation groups are protesting the inclusion of some wildlife-rich parcels in the federal government’s May oil and gas lease sale. The parcels in question — five near Cody, six in the Red Desert’s Adobe Town area and one outside of Lander — are all documented crucial habitat areas […]

ON THIS EARTH DAY the Wyoming Outdoor Council is remembering and reflecting on the contributions of Wyoming’s late Sen. Craig Thomas, who was the original champion of the historic legislation that would eventually be called the Wyoming Range Legacy Act. The Wyoming Range Legacy Act was introduced by Sen. John Barrasso in honor of Sen. […]

JOHN MUIR, ONE OF OUR NATION’S PIONEER CONSERVATIONISTS, was born on this day in 1838. The Wyoming Outdoor Council has immense gratitude for Mr. Muir’s lifetime of conservation and preservation work, and his priceless contributions to our nation’s natural heritage. Here is a quote to contemplate, in celebration of what would be Mr. Muir’s 172nd […]

AN EXCERPT FROM THE OPINION PAGE of today’s Casper Star-Tribune, from a piece about reforming the way Wyoming regulates hydraulic fracturing: The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has delayed making a final decision until June on reporting requirements about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. But based upon questions about the process that the commission […]

Click HERE or on the image to read the press release. Media Contacts: Bruce Pendery, program manager, Wyoming Outdoor Council, 435-752-2111, bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org. Laurie Milford, executive director, Wyoming Outdoor Council, 307-399-8440

THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE has decided not to protect the Wyoming pocket gopher as an endangered species, the agency announced today. This decision came in response to a 2007 petition to list the animal as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. You can read the official 12-month finding by clicking here. […]

Video: An expert from the University of Wyoming explains some of the basics about pocket gophers. There are a variety of pocket gopher species, including the Wyoming pocket gopher. Credit: ONOW2008 via YouTube

By Sophie Osborn IN EARLY MARCH, WYOMING BRACED FOR A DECISION by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on whether to list the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. (The bird was not listed.) Now south-central Wyoming is facing another listing decision that could influence energy development and […]