“Wyoming needs a new approach to flaring—one that better protects people and our environment.”

Click here or on the image of the newsletter to read the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s winter 2013 Frontline.

Other posts you might want to see:

MEDIA RELEASE: New Wyoming Groundwater Rule Approved

Spring Frontline 2013, the Wyoming Outdoor Council Newsletter

Media Release: Groups Appeal Fracking Chemical Case to Wyoming Supreme Court

The Upper Hoback will be protected in perpetuity

This photo of Boar’s Tusk from the Killpecker Sand Dunes, by Dave Showalter, is among the winners and will appear as a featured image in the our 2014 calendar.

Announcing the Winners!

Congratulations to the 11 different photographers who have had their images chosen for inclusion in the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 2014 calendar.

The winners are listed below the slideshow. Seven of the winning photographers had multiple images chosen.

Thanks to everyone who submitted photographs this year!

We received a record number of entries from a record number of photographers again this year and, as always, the quality of the entries—from professional photographers and gifted amateur shooters alike—was stunning.

All Wyoming Outdoor Council members and winning photographers will be receiving the 2014 calendar in the mail in late November.

Congratulations to all!

Click any of the images below to see a larger-format slideshow. These are just some of the winning photographs!

Winning photographers whose images were chosen for large featured photos:

Rick Allen, cover image: Hiking in the Honeycomb Buttes

Scott Copeland Images (3), Continental Peak; Tipi Rings, Honeycomb Buttes; Northern Red Desert Mustangs

Ken Driese (2), Honeycomb Buttes; Robbers Gulch Badlands

Kathy Lichtendahl (2), Northern Red Desert Sky; Canyon Shadows, Northern Red Desert

Dave Showalter (3), Jack Morrow Hills Overlook; Boar’s Tusk and footprints from the Killpecker Sand Dunes; Adobe Town Rim

Michele Irwin, Cedar Canyon

Winning photographers whose images were chosen for smaller inset photos, inside cover, or back cover photos:

Scott Copeland Images (4), Bird tracks, Killpecker Sand Dunes; Pronghorn Sprinting; Ferruginous Hawk; Sage-grouse

Kyle Duba, with Lighthawk aerial support (2), Oregon Buttes flyover; Killpecker Sand Dunes from the air

Tim Hudson, Boy on John Mionczynski’s Motorcycle, Northern Red Desert

Michele Irwin, View from Oregon Buttes

Kathy Lichtendahl (3), Sunrise, Honeycomb Buttes; Swallow; Setting Sun, Northern Red Desert

Chris Merrill, White Mountain Petroglyph

Dave Showalter, Burrowing Owl

Jeff Vanuga, Boar’s Tusk

Gary Wilmot, Jack Morrow Hills Mountain Biker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2013

Media Contacts:
Lauren Whittenberg, 512-691-3437, lwhittenberg@edf.org
Chris Merrill, 307-223-0071, chris@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Expert Contacts:
Jon Goldstein, 505-603-8522, jgoldstein@edf.org
Amber Wilson, 307-332-7031, amber@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
Richard Garrett, 307-349-2423 richard@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Groups Praise Governor Mead, Call the New Groundwater Testing Program a ‘Model for the Nation’

CASPER, WYO — The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, including Gov. Matt Mead, gave unanimous final approval on Tuesday to new statewide rules that will require oil and gas drillers to scientifically establish and monitor the quality of groundwater around sites prior to, during, and after oil and gas development.

Environmental Defense Fund and the Wyoming Outdoor Council applaud this action, which they say establishes a groundwater testing standard that is a model for the nation.

“Governor Mead, his appointees and staff have shown great leadership in this effort,” said Richard Garrett, energy policy analyst with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “The governor is right — and just about everyone agrees — collecting baseline water quality data prior to drilling, and following up with post completion sampling, are necessary steps. This rule will help protect everyone: landowners, Wyoming citizens, and industry.”

Mead said he wants the rule to be implemented and enforced by March 1.

“Wyoming should be proud of this rule,” Jon Goldstein, EDF senior energy policy manager said. “It sets a new national standard for groundwater baseline testing and monitoring related to oil and gas activity. The open, inclusive approach the state took in formulating this proposal has led to a strong, scientifically valid groundwater testing program. This rule will give Wyoming residents important information about the quality of their water.”

Wyoming’s new rule will be applied statewide. It will require that companies use a “radial approach” to sampling wells (testing drinking water sources within a half mile radius of new oil and gas wells) without an artificial cap on the number of wells tested, and it includes a required Sampling and Analysis Protocol (SAP) to ensure that procedures and parameters are consistently implemented.

Wyoming’s proposed SAP is currently the most detailed guidance provided by any state regarding how private wells should be sampled, the groups say.

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and our Energy Exchange Blog.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council (wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org) is Wyoming’s oldest independent conservation organization. The Wyoming Outdoor Council’s mission is to protect Wyoming’s environment and quality of life for future generations.

Background on Baseline Testing

“Collection of baseline water quality information prior to development is in everyone’s best interest. It will benefit the industry, the public, and the state.”

—Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead

Click here or on the image of the newsletter to read the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s spring 2013 Frontline.

Other posts you might want to see:

Media Release: Groups Appeal Fracking Chemical Case to Wyoming Supreme Court

The Upper Hoback will be protected in perpetuity

CST: Wyoming should be a role model and require baseline water testing

View of Adobe Town from Skull Creek Rim, photo by Chris Merrill

By Bruce Pendery

I’m writing today about the latest in what has been a flurry of Bureau of Land Management land-use plan revisions and amendments—this one, the proposed changes to the Rawlins-area resource management plan.

I’ll start with the bad news: this amendment, as written, needs a lot of work. It has major, and multiple, flaws. The good news is our collective input can help make it better.

The BLM is currently taking comments—which are due October 28—on its proposed modifications to this land-use plan.

And a quick email from you can help ensure that some important changes are made before the amendment is final.

If you only have time to write one paragraph, please do just that!

See the bullets below for some suggestions on what you might write to the agency.

You can click here to send an email right now.

Why this amendment matters

As you can see on the map above, this land-use plan covers a huge expanse of real estate, spanning more than 5,400 square miles, and it includes much of southern Wyoming.

The proposed amendment to this land-use plan deals with two issues: (1) designations of what the agency calls, “visual resource management classes” throughout the Rawlins planning area, and (2) designations of what it calls “areas of critical environmental concern.”

The visual resource designations have the potential to greatly advance—or set back—the environmental protections on these public lands. So your comments are critical.

From our perspective, the BLM’s proposed amendment is woefully inadequate.

It would give 57 percent of the landscapes under consideration the lowest level visual resource protection (what the agency calls “visual resource management Class IV”).

Within these so-called “VRM Class IV” areas, projects can be allowed to cause “major modifications” to the existing character of the landscape. And industrial and other activities would be allowed to “dominate” the views that you see.

View from Adobe Town Rim, photo by Chris Merrill

While this proposed amendment would provide slightly improved protections in the iconic Adobe Town area—the area would mostly be designated “VRM Class III,” with some heightened protections in the vicinity of the wilderness study area.

Most of the Federal lands in the Laramie area would be given the lowest-level (“VRM Class IV”) designation, as would most of the lands in the beautiful, wide-open Shirley Basin.

Shirley Basin, Wyoming, photo by Ken Driese

The proposed plan would provide for good visual resource protections in the Ferris/Shirley/Seminoe/Pedro Mountains areas, as well as in the northern Laramie Mountains, and in areas adjacent to the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie.

The BLM will accept comments until October 28:

By email:

BLM_WY_RL_RMP_VRM@blm.gov

By mail:

Bureau of Land Management Rawlins Field Office

Rawlins RMP Amendment and EA

1300 North Third Street

Rawlins, WY 82301

By fax: 307-328-4224

We would suggest that you consider making one or all of the following requests to help the agency improve this plan:

• Please improve visual protections for the Adobe Town area and in the Laramie area. The provisions of alternative 3, which are specified in the agency’s environmental assessment, should be adopted instead. This would provide for VRM Class I and II designations in the Adobe Town area and there would be much more VRM Class II in the area surrounding the Medicine Bow National Forest, east of Laramie (the Vedauwoo area).
  • This Vedauwoo area is one of the most cherished and well-used recreation areas in southeastern Wyoming. It is hugely important to the local economy and quality of life. If this viewshed were to be harmed by industrial development it would be a major blow to Laramie and Cheyenne’s long-term economic development.
• We believe the BLM should make VRM Class III designations within at least 5 miles of major roads. These include I-80, I-25, U.S. Highways 30 and 287, and Wyoming Routes 77, 230, 487, and 789. These areas are key thoroughfares in full view of thousands of people, and are important travel, tourist, and recreation conduits—so greater visual resource protection should be provided to help safeguard the travel, tourism, and recreation economy, which is Wyoming’s second largest industry.
• The Shirley Basin area should be designated VRM Class II. No current alternative provides for this. But this iconic area deserves greater visual resource protection than the BLM is proposing. It is a popular destination with Laramie recreationists and hunters, it is an incredible, largely undeveloped wide-open expanse of grasslands, and it provides important habitat for pronghorn, mule deer, elk, hawks, and sage-grouse, as well as a population of the critically endangered black-footed ferret. The BLM’s environmental analysis shows that some of this area has a “Class A Scenic Quality” rating and a “High visual sensitivity level.”
• There are many special places that do not receive adequate protection under the BLM’s proposed plan. These include an ACEC, Wildlife Habitat Management Areas, Special Recreation Management Areas, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Cherokee and Overland Historic Trails, National Natural Landmarks, Wild and Scenic River Eligible Segments, and crucial wildlife habitats. You could ask for improved protections for all of these areas—or any that are especially important to you personally or your local community.

Other thoughts:

• You might consider supporting the BLM’s proposed VRM classifications in the Ferris/Shirley/Seminoe/Pedro Mountains area, in the northern Laramie Mountains, and in the areas adjacent to the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie. We think these are strong.
• The proposed plan would provide for an expansion of the Blowout Penstemon ACEC. We strongly support this, including the provision making this area unavailable for oil and gas leasing. While expanding the ACEC from 17,185 acres to 29,312 acres would be beneficial, the protection alternative would expand it to 49,200 acres and you might consider asking BLM to do that.

The Rawlins Field Office is immense, so getting these improved protections could benefit a great deal of public land. It stretches from west of Wamsutter all the way to the Nebraska border, and from the Colorado border north as much as 100 miles.

More information is available on the BLM Rawlins Field Office website here.

If you would like more information you can contact Bruce Pendery, Wyoming Outdoor Council, bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org or (435)-752-2111.

Upper Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone

By Bruce Pendery

As we all know, the federal government has been largely shut down for partisan reasons.

Some members of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives decided they would support a short-term resolution to continue funding the government only if that spending plan would eliminate all funding for “Obamacare”—the federal health care program.

The Democratic-led Senate, unsurprisingly, voted to reject any provisions to defund President Barack Obama’s signature first-term legislative achievement.

The House then stood firm. It rejected the Senate’s “clean continuing resolution” that had stripped out provisions to defund the Affordable Care Act and would have simply continued funding the government at current levels for about two months.

The president and Republican leaders in Congress are now working—thus far unsuccessfully—to broker a deal.

One question, among many, arising out of this impasse is how might this shutdown affect the environment?

Furloughs Halt Progress on Weighty Issues

Initially about 800,000 out of 2 million federal workers were “furloughed” (i.e., forced to take unpaid leave), although approximately 350,000 (primarily civilian military contractors) were recalled shortly after the initial shutdown.

Impacts have been widespread, ranging from reductions in disease and food inspections by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control, to lack of product screening at ports by the Consumer Products Safety Commission, to slowing of the processing of loans for low- and moderate-income buyers of homes and first-time homebuyers by the Federal Housing Administration, to some reduction of Veterans services.

Federal environmental agencies have also been very hard hit. At the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, about 93 percent of its 17,000 employees were furloughed. At the Bureau of Land Management, 10,152 of 10,800 employees were furloughed. Similar impacts on workforces have occurred at other federal environmental agencies such as the National Park Service, Forest Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

These layoffs are having major effects on the environment—and most of these impacts are not positive.

With the EPA shut down, there will be no advancements in air pollution regulations, including much-needed improvements to the national ozone standard that have been long called for by the independent experts and medical professionals that advise the EPA. These improvements are needed to protect people and the public health.

The “regional haze” rule for Wyoming, which would limit air pollution that causes haze in our national parks and wilderness areas, had been scheduled to be finalized in mid-November, but with the government shutdown, progress has been delayed, and nothing will happen on this front as long as the government is closed.

Many other EPA functions are on hold, such as laboratory research into pesticide human health impacts, and emissions standards certifications for vehicles, the latter of which is delaying some new model cars from reaching showrooms.

And approvals of new pesticides and industrial chemicals are also being held up because the EPA cannot review their health and environmental effects, as required by law.

At the BLM, on the other hand, the environmental impacts of the shutdown may be as much positive as negative, at least in the short term.

The agency has stopped reviewing and approving applications for oil and natural gas drilling. The agency has also stopped work on pending oil and gas lease sales. And the “mega projects” that the Wyoming Outdoor Council has been very concerned about (such as the Continental Divide-Creston, Moxa Arch, and Normally Pressure Lance oil and gas fields) will not be moving toward approval during this shutdown.

That said, popular BLM campgrounds are closed, and places such as the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper are not open. And we are discouraged that the shutdown has halted the agency’s progress on critical revisions to the land-use plans for the Lander, Cody, Worland, Buffalo, and Rock Springs areas.

The BLM Resource Advisory Council will not be holding its scheduled November meeting in Laramie, at least as of today.

Regardless of these conditions, good or bad, the Wyoming Outdoor Council has close professional relationships with many BLM employees, and, for their sake and the country’s sake, we want them back on the job as soon as possible—rather than at home doing weaving and yard work, or whatever else.

Closures Deliver a Blow to Local Economies, Hunting and Fishing

The impacts of the government shutdown on the National Parks have probably received the most media attention so far. The National Parks, Monuments, and Historic areas throughout the nation, such as Yosemite, Mount Rainier, the Gettysburg battlefield, and other Civil War memorials, have been closed—and people are not happy about it.

In Wyoming, even though park visits might be slowing down this time of year, as snow falls, we no longer have access to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and Devil’s Tower and Fossil Butte National Monuments.

Some states, including Utah, Arizona, and New York, have paid to reopen the parks, but Wyoming has not taken that step.

The economic impacts of the loss of tourism dollars have been significant and very unwelcome in the communities that surround these national parks. One estimate from retired Park Service workers was that 700,000 people per day would have been visiting the parks if they were open and this was costing surrounding areas about $76 million in visitor spending per day.

Another unfortunate effect of the shutdown is that National Wildlife Refuges were closed to hunting and fishing just as many hunting seasons were about to open. This can be a big blow to hunters and their families, who plan all year for these hunting seasons.

Some of these areas have been reopened, mostly in the Midwest, to allow pheasant and duck hunting. In Wyoming, the National Elk Refuge and Seedskadee and Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuges are closed to hunting, as are other refuges.

Courts About to Run Out of Money

And finally, an issue of interest to a group like the Wyoming Outdoor Council is the courts. We sometimes take environmental issues to court to get them resolved. Federal courts are currently open but they will run out of money sometime around October 17 or 18.

If that happens, they too will be greatly scaling back services. All “nonessential” work will be stopped. What this probably means is that criminal cases will proceed (because the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to a speedy trial in criminal matters) but civil cases will probably not proceed, or will be greatly slowed.

All in all the environmental impacts of the government shutdown are mixed, but mostly negative. So we’d like to see the government up and running as soon as possible. And, we would like to see these dedicated public servants back on the job.

When it comes to the environmental protection work that the Wyoming Outdoor Council does, the shutdown has had little impact so far. But this will change if the shutdown continues for an extended period.

Many of our longer-term efforts include engaging with these key government agencies. Our work, for example, to convince the EPA to adopt and improve regulations to better protect human health would be affected. The same goes for a long list of other matters, including our multiyear efforts to help the BLM to better manage oil and gas development and to provide farsighted stewardship of our public lands; to help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fully protect imperiled species such as sage-grouse; and to encourage the U.S. Forest Service to adopt better, more carefully crafted long-term land-use plans, among many other things.

Eventually, if the shutdown continues, these important long-term efforts will all be affected—slowed down at first and maybe eventually brought to a halt. No matter what happens, of course, we will adapt. But with any luck this shutdown will be short and we can continue to make progress on the weighty environmental issues that affect all of us. We hope so.

Contact: Bruce Pendery, chief legal counsel, Wyoming Outdoor Council, bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Other posts you might want to see:

Why Even Rugged Individualists Should Embrace Federal Fracking Regulations

Fixing Haze Pollution: Wyoming People Deserve the Facts

Listening to Nature is a great, annual community event featuring readings and visual artwork by scientists, writers, and artists!

Navajo poet Sherwin Bitsui will join Wyoming presenters to read poems, essays, and other works. The readings will be preceded by a reception.

This year you can catch the event in both Riverton and Laramie!

Receptions for both evenings start at 6:30 p.m., readings at 7 p.m.

Laramie: Friday, October 11
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center, University of Wyoming campus
Riverton: Friday, October 25
Wind River Room, Intertribal Education and Community Center, Central Wyoming College campus

Both evenings are free and open to the public!

The Wyoming Outdoor Council is co-hosting both events along with the University of Wyoming’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, the MFA Program in Creative Writing, the American Indian Studies Program, and Central Wyoming College.

For more information contact: Emilene Ostlind, 307-766-2604, emilene@uwyo.edu

Other posts you might want to see:

Wyoming Outdoor Council Calendar Contest: Submit Your Photos!

Click the map for a larger image. Courtesy the BLM.

Comment Deadline is September 26

By Bruce Pendery

The Bureau of Land Management is now accepting comments from the public on its draft long-term land-use plan for the Buffalo, Wyoming area.

Once finalized, this plan will guide how public lands and millions of acres of federal mineral estate in this important part of the Powder River Basin are managed for the next 20 years.

Decisions in this plan will determine where energy development can occur, how wildlife habitat is managed and protected, and what areas will be prioritized for recreation and resource protection, among many other things.

As always, the Wyoming Outdoor Council has submitted in-depth, constructive comments on this proposed plan, in an effort to help protect Wyoming’s environment and quality of life.

I’m writing today to encourage you to send a quick personal comment to the BLM, as well.

You might be surprised, but a simple, one- or two-paragraph email from an involved citizen can make a big difference.

Why Participate?

Decisions made in these long-term “resource management plans” guide what happens on the landscape for decades.

It’s important that we (1) stand up and voice our support for the plan’s best proposed provisions—to help ensure they remain part of the final vision—and (2) encourage the BLM to make some important, needed improvements.

Your personal input, as an engaged citizen and stakeholder, can help convince the BLM to modify its draft plan, perhaps significantly, before it is made final.

Public input is absolutely essential to ensuring a balanced plan that gives due weight to local values and uses, as well as broader concerns, while allowing for both conservation and responsible energy development.

The deadline for submitting comments on the draft Buffalo resource management plan is September 26.

How to participate

You can dig into the details of the draft plan online by clicking here.

OR

Just send a quick email to: BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov; or send an old-fashioned letter to Thomas Bills, Buffalo RMP, BLM Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834; or hand deliver your comments to the Buffalo Field Office.

Commenting Tips

Describe your connection to the specific places you are commenting on—you might live nearby, hunt, fish, camp, or hike in a certain area, or perhaps the wildlife you enjoy or the big game that you hunt rely on these lands to survive the winter.

Tell the BLM whether you think the proposed plan will adequately preserve the places you care about most, and why.

Suggestions for your comments

• We support the BLM’s proposed plan to protect important recreation and wildlife landscapes in the Buffalo area, which the agency has identified as special recreation areas and “areas of critical environmental concern.” This part of the draft plan is much needed.
• We are asking that the agency improve the management of all of these special recreation areas and areas of critical environmental concern so that recreational values and other resource values are given priority in these areas, and not subsumed into other management such as oil and gas development.
• We are urging the BLM to better protect the areas that the agency has identified as “extensive recreation management areas.” In its draft plan the agency states that in these areas “recreation is to be managed as a commensurate use with other resources or resource uses.” We think this is a major flaw that can and should be corrected. It’s a subtle distinction with large implications. The use of this “commensurate” standard is insufficient and could lead to energy development being given primacy and dominating the landscape in these recreation areas.
  • There is a better approach. In the Bighorn Basin, for example, the BLM is using a more appropriate, “in concert,” standard. So, in these similar types of areas recreation doesn’t have primacy but will be managed to allow for other uses, such as energy development, as long as they are managed “in concert” with each other. We are asking that the BLM take the same approach in the Buffalo area.
• The fragility of the soils in the Powder River Basin is striking. Well over half of the soils in this area are highly erodible or have very poor reclamation potential. This means that if these soils are disturbed, reclamation is nearly impossible. What we’re asking for: Instead of allowing soil disturbance, the BLM should adopt “alternative B,” which would prohibit disturbance in these sensitive areas. Alternative D, which the agency has sighted as its “preferred alternative,” would cause undo degradation of these lands and also not meet the agency’s “multiple use” mandate because the disturbance can never be fixed. We are urging the BLM to be much, much more careful.
• Sage-grouse: We are urging the BLM to adopt many of the provisions in alternative B for sage-grouse rather than alternative D (the agency’s “preferred alternative”). We are asking the agency to designate the “sagebrush ecosystem ACEC” that is outlined under alternative B, or to at least adopt similar protective provisions. This would be a much more careful, appropriate, and scientifically based way for the agency to manage for the imperiled sage-grouse in this part of the Powder River Basin.

From our comments on sage-grouse:

“Many of the threats to sage-grouse are interrelated, resulting in a feedback loop of deteriorating conditions in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems that threaten not only sage-grouse but also a growing host of other sagebrush obligates or sagebrush-dependent species. For this reason, we recommend the addition of a number of guidelines proposed for seasonal use restrictions outlined in Alternative B to the BLM preferred Alternative D.”

Contact: Bruce Pendery, chief legal counsel, Wyoming Outdoor Council, bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Other posts you might want to see:

Why Even Rugged Individualists Should Embrace Federal Fracking Regulations

Fixing Haze Pollution: Wyoming People Deserve the Facts

Join us for a little Red Desert adventure!

September 8, 2013

By Julia Stuble, land conservation coordinator

The weather forecast looks great for our Red Desert expedition on Sunday morning. Don’t miss out!

Join us in Rock Springs for a light breakfast and updates, and then a fun expedition into the Red Desert. The whole family is invited!

• We will meet from 8-9:30 a.m., Sunday September 8, at the Hampton Inn in Rock Springs, for a quick, educational presentation on the Red Desert, as well as some updates.
• Then, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., we’ll take an expedition into the Red Desert to visit the White Mountain petroglyphs and Boar’s Tusk, and then hike the Killpecker Sand Dunes.
• Red Desert expert Jon Mionczynski will lead us in a great discussion of the cultural and natural history of the area.
• Bring food and water, a spare tire, and your imagination!

For more information and to R.S.V.P, please contact Julia Stuble, land conservation coordinator, (307) 332 7031 ext.11 or julia@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Submit your best Wyoming Photos for inclusion in the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 2014 calendar!

This year’s theme: Celebrating the Red Desert.

Help us honor and celebrate Wyoming’s Red Desert!

Submission deadline is October 1, 2013

Do you have great shots of Wyoming’s Red Desert—its spectacular landscapes, wildlife, and people experiencing this special place? If so, get them published in the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 2014 calendar.

Previous calendars have included photographs by some of Wyoming’s best professional photographers, as well as some of its most gifted amateur shooters.

Contest Rules

• Photographs must be taken in Wyoming’s Red Desert and can include landscapes, lifestyles, wildlife, and people.
• All photos must be submitted in digital form by email or online file sharing tool, mailed on a CD or DVD, or hand delivered on a CD, DVD, or flash drive.
• Photos can only be published if available in a high-quality, relatively high-resolution, digital format.
• Photograph entries constitute permission to use the images with credit to the photographer without monetary compensation.
• Please include your name, address, city, state, zip code, daytime phone number, email address, and description of your photo including where the photo was taken.

TO SUBMIT PHOTOS, PLEASE EMAIL OR MAIL TO CHRIS MERRILL:

chris@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Wyoming Outdoor Council

262 Lincoln Street

Lander, WY 82520

The photos above all appeared in previous Wyoming Outdoor Council calendars. Photo credits, from left to right  are: Russ Schnitzer, Robert Cochran, and Scott Copeland Images. Background image: Russ Schnitzer.