Advancing Progressive Solutions in the Rocky Mountain States
Wyoming News
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The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee approved a new bill that would raise individual campaign contributions and address issues surrounding unlimited PAC donations. Some proponents did express reservations of the bill's increase in individual contributions and what is considered an unenforceable provision on PAC donations and new contribution reporting requirements.
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In Wyoming's richest coal fields the town of Wright is switching from coal-based power to wind, solar, and biomass to reduce its carbon footprint. Mayor Kelly Hand, a self-proclaimed right-wing conservative, is challenging other Wyoming communities to follow suit.
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Sen. John Barrasso, in his first speech on the Senate floor, announced plans to continue the legacy of late Sen. Craig Thomas by introducing a bill to protect the Wyoming range lands in the Bridger-Teton National Forest from oil and gas drilling. The decision to move forward on the bill started by Thomas was applauded by both conservationists and industry representatives. Sen. Barrasso also stated he would continue Thomas' work by co-sponsoring a rural health care bill and pushing for the Snake River and many of its tributaries to be designated wild and scenic.
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According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials, 44 wolves have been killed in Wyoming this year for preying on livestock. This number is on par with last year according to Wyoming wolf recovery coordinator Mike Jimenez. However, the number of predations by wolves is down 60% from 2006.
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Testifying before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Wyoming Gov. Freudenthal proposed tax incentives for clean coal technologies similar to those offered for development of wind farms. Freudenthal, leader of the largest coal producing state in the nation, also urged the feds to be more aggressive in limiting carbon emissions and reducing impacts of global warming.
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Federal figures released Wednesday show about 550 billion tons of coal buried in the Powder River Basin which stradles the Wyoming-Montana border. Only 11% of that coal is off-limits to future mining due to laws and restrictions. The report also stated that by year 2030, the West can expect a 68% increase in coal production.
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In Rock Springs, Wyoming, residents of the Ash Street neighborhood have been forced into temporary housing due to dangerously high levels of hydrogen sulfide and other gases leaking into their homes from the ground. The source of the leaks are the abandoned coal shafts below the streets. The cause is under investigation; however, the leaks started soon after a company began pounding the ground with 25-ton weights, a process known as dynamic compaction, to collapse the old mine shafts making further above ground development safe.
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Of the 122,190 comments collected on the proposed management plan for Yellowstone National Park, 88,900--73 percent of the total--stated snow coaches should be the only motorized transport in the park. Ninety-four percent of the comments said snowmobiles ruin the winter "soundscape." The National Park Service, whose proposal would allow 720 snowmobiles per day, stated it would not make a decision guided by public opinion.
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In Wyoming the threatened sage grouse, coal-bed methane and oil and gas drilling operations prefer the same landscape. When the bird is in the midst of energy development, populations decline dramatically which lead BLM officials to reduce the number of development permits sparking anger and protests by displaced workers. But now, the energy industry is adjusting to new regulations and even agriculture is taking steps toward sage grouse conservation.
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Tasco Engineering is seeking a permit to operate a 36-turbine wind farm in southwest Wyoming. The project, scaled down from a 2006 version of 133 turbines, would be the first wind operation in Sweetwater County.
