HOW DO WE ENSURE GOOD STEWARDSHIP OF THE BIGHORN BASIN? Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin is almost completely surrounded by mountains. The jagged Absaroka and Beartooth ranges are to the west, the tall, rounded Bighorns are to the east and northeast, the Pryor Mountains to the north, and the Owl Creek and Bridger ranges form its southern […]

A MESSAGE TO WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND FRIENDS: WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP the Shoshone National Forest buy a piece of land near the Sunlight Basin from a private landowner who wants to sell it to the agency. Please contact Senator John Barrasso and ask him to support a $2.5 million appropriation from […]

  THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PROPOSED NEW SMOG STANDARDS in January with the aim of bringing health benefits to millions of Americans. The deadline to submit comments to the EPA on its proposed rule changes for ground-level ozone is March 22. Please see below for where and how to make sure your voice is heard. […]

IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY, now is your chance to support a new proposal by the U.S. Forest Service not to lease 44,700 acres in the Wyoming Range for oil and gas development. The deadline to comment on the agency’s preferred alternative is March 22. See details below for where and how to comment. […]

By Richard Garrett, Jr. GOV. DAVE FREUDENTHAL HAS VETOED two bills: Senate File 13, called “Economic Analysis” and House Bill 97, the nuclear energy production study. The Wyoming Outdoor Council was happy to hear of these two decisions, and is grateful to the governor for his careful stewardship. While we did ask the governor to […]

THE GREATER SAGE-GROUSE will not be protected as an endangered species, at least not this year. In a much-anticipated decision—with big implications for Wyoming and other western states—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday that the iconic western bird is indeed in dire straits. But it will not be afforded protections under the Endangered Species Act. […]

WYOMING GOV. DAVE FREUDENTHAL HAS ANNOUNCED he will not run for re-election in 2010. “We are here today, in part, to confirm that I will not be a candidate for Governor in 2010,” Freudenthal said. “This decision is not made lightly but enjoys strong support from my family. I suspect this statement comes as no […]

By Richard Garrett, Jr. TEASING OUT THE BIAS IN THE ‘ECONOMIC ANALYSIS’ BILL… Going into this legislative session the Wyoming Outdoor Council had several priorities. Perhaps at the top of our list of concerns was Wyoming Senate File 13, called Economic Analysis — a bill sponsored by the Joint Interim Agriculture Committee and Sen. Eli […]

By Richard Garrett, Jr. THE MIDWAY POINT — THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS This week marks the beginning of the second half of the month-long legislative session. In many ways the next two weeks will be the mirror image of the first two. Bills that managed their way through one side of the capitol will now […]

By Richard Garrett, Jr. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT WIND, AT LEAST NOT ALL OF THE TIME… Even though a great deal of time so far this session has been devoted to legislation related to wind energy development, yesterday’s House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee heard from sponsors about an alternative, and some would say, […]