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Northern Red Desert

Wyoming Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Just Compensation for Solar Owners

Posted on by Max Owens

Powder River Basin Resource Council & Wyoming Outdoor Council welcome the opportunity for more energy freedom in Wyoming

 In a precedent-setting decision issued last week, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down High Plains Power’s policy to cut by approximately 80 percent the compensation paid to rooftop solar owners for the power they produce and share with the electric grid. The decision now forces the Wyoming Public Service Commission to reconsider what is a just and reasonable rate to compensate solar owners.

Had the PSC’s approval of High Plains Power’s policy been upheld, it would have negatively impacted hundreds of existing and future solar homeowners and businesses and the roughly dozen Wyoming small businesses that install solar panels across the state, providing jobs and revenue for Wyoming’s future.

“Most businesses and homeowners invest in on-site solar generation to gain a degree of energy independence, a source of clean energy, AND a reasonable financial return on investment. Today’s decision helps to preserve a simple and fair compensation structure for future solar investors and, most importantly, prevents HPP from reducing the compensation expected by their members already using solar,” said Scott Kane, co-owner of Lander-based Creative Energies, the company responsible for installing many of the rooftop solar systems within the High Plains service area. 

The Court struck down the PSC’s 2023 decision authorizing High Plains Power to reduce the compensation it gives to customers who generate solar power and send it to the grid. Wyoming’s net metering statute requires utilities to credit customers for the excess solar power they provide at the same retail rate they pay for the electricity they consume from the grid. However, High Plains switched to compensating net-metered customers for their excess generation by paying them on a monthly basis at a much lower rate, called avoided cost. This change meant that customers could no longer roll over generation credits, dramatically reducing the financial benefit of having solar panels.

Not wanting the precedent of High Plains Power’s action to stand or influence other utilities, and seeking to represent the interests of their membership, Powder River Basin Resource Council and Wyoming Outdoor Council intervened in the PSC proceedings reviewing High Plains Power’s proposal in 2022 and later appealed the PSC’s split 2–1 decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“We’re pleased that the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the High Plains and the PSC actions were in violation of the law. If left to stand, it would have paved the path for other electric utilities to enact similar policies rendering customers’ solar investments much less economic and gravely threatening Wyoming’s growing solar industry,” said Bob LeResche, Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Member, and solar-owner member of the rural electric cooperative Powder River Energy Corporation near Clearmont, Wyoming. 

“We are grateful that the terms on which we chose to make an investment in a solar system will be maintained. We hope that the rooftop solar industry will continue to grow, providing more jobs and more distributed electricity,” stated Elizabeth Aranow, a High Plains Power solar owning customer.

BREAKING: Governor’s task force recommendations shape improved public lands management in newly released Rock Springs plan

Posted on by Max Owens

August 22, 2024 – Today, the Bureau of Land Management released its proposed Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, outlining management direction for almost 3.6 million acres of public lands in southwest Wyoming. The proposed plan clearly reflects and incorporates feedback from tens of thousands of public comments and input from local stakeholders, including the task force Gov. Mark Gordon convened in late 2023.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council and Wyoming Wilderness Association both served on the governor’s task force alongside representatives with interests in oil and gas, grazing, energy production, motorized recreation, sportsmen groups, and trona industry. The task force also included elected officials from communities in Sweetwater County as well as the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate for the Wyoming Legislature. This group developed more than 100 consensus-based recommendations, supported by all stakeholders, to improve the plan and delivered these recommendations to the BLM during the agency’s public comment period.

The BLM took the task force’s consensus-based comments seriously. The proposed Rock Springs Resource Management Plan reflects task force recommendations including maintaining access for the local trona mining industry, retaining the OHV play area in parts of the Killpecker Sand Dunes, and protecting the unique natural and cultural values of Boar’s Tusk.

In response, WOC and WWA issued the following statements:

“We’re pleased to see the BLM incorporated public feedback and input from Gov. Gordon’s task force into a plan that serves local communities, iconic landscapes, and wildlife,” said Alec Underwood, program director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “Among other important agreements, the task force reached consensus on the need to protect gold-standard habitat and other significant natural values in the Big Sandy Foothills and Northern Red Desert, such as Boar’s Tusk. It’s encouraging to see the BLM’s responsiveness, as well as the agency’s efforts to build on the task force’s strong foundation where agreement wasn’t reached, as they did for the Big Sandy Foothills. While the plan could be improved — protections for the iconic big game migration corridors in the region, for example, fall short of the mark — we appreciate that the agency worked diligently to ensure that updated management direction will conserve some of our country’s best remaining wildlife habitat, while also maintaining all of the unique recreational opportunities found within the field office.”

“It is a testament to the dedication of all who love and care for the lands within the Rock Springs Field Office that the proposed plan includes some robust, durable, and reasonable conservation measures for the Northern Red Desert and Big Sandy Foothills. We applaud the BLM for making the hard decisions necessary to ensure these wild and working landscapes continue to thrive for future generations to use and enjoy,” said Lauren Marsh, BLM program manager for Wyoming Wilderness Association. “We are, however, disappointed that some key provisions in the draft RMP were not carried forward in the proposed plan, namely recognizing Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWCs) and important protections for the hoodoo-studded wildlands surrounding Adobe Town. Nevertheless, we appreciate the willingness of the BLM to take to heart the concerns of local Wyoming residents as expressed through public comment and recommendations from Governor Gordon’s task force. What you see reflected in the plan for the northern portion of the Field Office — and taskforce recommendations — is how much Wyomingites value wildlife and the wildlands that support them, even under the demands of a largely extraction-based economy.”

What happens next?

The issuance of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement initiates a 30-day public protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review. The agency will finalize the plan after resolving issues raised in these processes.

To stay up-to-date on this process, make sure you’re signed up to receive emails from WOC. As we dive into the plan and examine how it will impact the wildlife, cultural resources, and other values of the Red Desert, we’ll keep you informed.

Read more about the plan in WOC’s joint release with The Wilderness Society.

For more information, contact:

Carl Fisher, Executive Director, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (801) 910-7487,
carl@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Lauren Marsh, BLM Program Manager, Wyoming Wilderness Association, (205) 807-4783, lauren@wildwyo.org

Max Owens, Communications Manager, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (307) 488-3451, max@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Scenes from Run the Red and Wyoming Public Lands Day 2021

Posted on by Alan Rogers

SCENES FROM RUN THE RED AND WYOMING PUBLIC LANDS DAY 2021

On Wyoming Public Lands Day, we gathered in South Pass City with hundreds of you to cheer on the Run the Red trail race runners and celebrate all our public lands have to offer us. After the 2020 event and many other in-person gatherings were cancelled due to COVID-19, being together in the Northern Red Desert with our community of members, partners, and friends was that much more special. Thank you to all the runners, volunteers, musicians, dancers, and everyone who joined us in the desert!

You can read more about the day in this story from the Casper Star-Tribune.

A dream for the Red Desert

Posted on by Alan Rogers

It’s the heart of winter in Wyoming and, for many of us, it’s a favorite time of year. The days are short and the nights are cold, but the snow brings a quiet, peaceful stillness and lends a special beauty to everyday life. For some, that means skiing, snowmobiling or ice fishing. For others, hunkering down with a hot drink and good book or movie is the best way to enjoy the season. 

The midwinter weeks are also a time to take stock of the past year and plan for the one ahead. These days, a lot of us at the Wyoming Outdoor Council have been daydreaming about the Red Desert. 

The Red Desert is commonly described as the largest unfenced area in the Lower 48. While its size and remote nature are impressive in themselves, this doesn’t paint the full picture. The desert is truly unique, with sweeping views, thriving wildlife, and mind-bending geological features. The ruts of the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails crisscross land that has been used by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. The few nondescript county roads meander to the horizon.

Even in Wyoming, it can be hard to believe a place this rugged still exists. But there is life here. Wildlife abounds, including elk, mule deer, and Greater sage-grouse. Ranchers run cattle, and many hunters, hikers, mountain bikers, and off-road enthusiasts consider the desert their best-kept secret. From the sand dunes, buttes, and badlands to the aspen oases and expanses of sagebrush, the Red Desert is as diverse as the people who care for it. 

For generations the Red Desert has sustained a way of life that is undeniably Western and provided opportunities for work, play, and quiet contemplation to anyone who seeks it. There is a balance that works, and we as Wyomingites have the power to uphold it. That’s why the Outdoor Council has spent years working to keep the desert the way it is — a working landscape rich with wildlife, history, and open space. 

In 2020, we joined together with like-minded people from all walks of life in Citizens for the Red Desert, a coalition of Wyoming citizens and organizations who love the desert. We also hired a new staff member, Shaleas Harrison, to coordinate the effort. The people in this group all have different reasons for taking part, but they recognize that there is a common ground when seeking to preserve all the diverse values and uses of the desert. 

While Citizens for the Red Desert is relatively new, the passion for the Red Desert is anything but. Wyoming residents first proposed that a portion of the desert be permanently protected as a winter game preserve in 1898, and in the century that followed, a host of other conservation efforts were considered. 

These public lands have seen relatively little new development in recent years. A patchwork of agency-level protections helps sustain the Red Desert elk herd, the White Mountain Petroglyphs, the sand dunes, and other values. But it is a tenuous balance that could easily unravel. Increasingly, dramatic shifts in federal land management priorities add an additional layer of uncertainty about the future. 

As Wyomingites, the Red Desert helps tell our story. Now, we want to tell the story of the desert. 

In the coming year the Outdoor Council will be working with citizen and tribal partners to chart the course to permanent protection of this special place — based on the existing framework that respects the full range of opportunities this land provides. For more than 130 years, Wyomingites have shown their support. An enduring, Wyoming-grown solution can make that dream a reality and keep the special values of the Red Desert intact for generations to come. 

Playing the long game for conservation policies that endure

Posted on by Lisa McGee

A change in federal administrations — and the policies that follow — is cause for either excitement or anxiety depending on how you voted. And for good reason: Elections have consequences. National policies affect our health, our economy, and our environment. And in Wyoming, where nearly half of the land is managed by the federal government, national policies have a disproportionate impact. 

Members of the Wyoming Outdoor Council fall all along the political spectrum. We agree to disagree on many issues, but find common ground when it comes to conservation. Conservation is not — and should not be — a partisan issue. 

From the standpoint of conservation and environmental justice, the legacy of the outgoing administration is dire. From climate change denial and the loosening of air and water quality safeguards to oil and gas leasing in areas important to Indigenous people and in crucial wildlife habitats, there have been more than 100 documented rollbacks to existing protections or short-sighted policies that threaten public health and our air, water, wildlife, and lands. 

Many of the administrative wins we celebrated over the last decade were among those rolled back. The fate of others — like the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule — remains uncertain as challenges are still working their way through the courts. And while there are some rules that the incoming administration will be able to restore and it will certainly abandon some public land policies like “energy dominance,” we’ve lost important ground. 

To be sure, the Outdoor Council looks forward to an incoming administration that is less hostile to our mission. At the same time, we are wary of ambitious campaign goals that don’t take Wyoming values into account. For example, in the urgency to transition away from fossil fuels, proposals for industrial-scale wind and solar development on public lands in Wyoming shouldn’t be rushed. Development should be encouraged in already disturbed areas so that, in our effort to mitigate climate impacts, we don’t harm intact habitat and our most cherished open spaces and public lands. 

And we’ll be careful not to rely too heavily on federal policy for solutions to the specific challenges we face in Wyoming. We don’t relish what has come to feel like a game of administrative ping-pong. 

Instead, what we strive for — regardless of who occupies the White House — are common-sense conservation initiatives and environmental policies that endure. Although incremental progress isn’t as newsworthy as sweeping change, we’re playing a long game. We’d much rather build on measured steps forward than have fleeting successes that can’t withstand the next election. 

What we strive for — regardless of who occupies the White House — are common-sense conservation initiatives and environmental policies that endure.

Assuming they work as promised, we support state-level initiatives. Past examples include  rules for detecting and fixing methane leaks in new and modified oil and gas fields and requiring baseline water testing before oil and gas drilling. We’ve also supported executive orders for sage-grouse conservation and big game migration corridors, although we continue to scrutinize their implementation.

And when we advocate for big policy solutions with the power to deliver conservation wins, we also champion strong public processes. We’re dedicated to empowering citizens in local communities to help craft lasting solutions. In the coming year we’ll build on the groundwork we laid in 2020 to seek consensus recommendations for large-scale renewable energy siting, support community-led climate change resolutions like the one recently adopted in Lander, and work with Tribal partners and other citizens toward permanent protection for parts of the incredible Northern Red Desert. 

Our approach to conservation keeps us grounded in Wyoming. This doesn’t mean that we are always successful. There are frequent setbacks, but it’s this approach that accounts for the conservation gains we’ve celebrated over the last 54 years. With your support, I’m confident we’ll continue this progress — not just in the coming year or coming four years, but for the long haul.