We all know that Wyoming is a special place. We are fortunate to live in a state where we can recreate on mountaintops, marvel at open vistas, watch wildlife roam, and take a moment to connect with the land and one another. Over half of Wyoming is public land, and all of it is the ancestral homeland of Indigenous people. It deserves to be celebrated.
This Saturday, Sept. 24, offers the perfect opportunity to do just that as the state marks the fourth annual Wyoming Public Lands Day — which was established by the state legislature in 2019 thanks to the work of the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition.
Wyoming Outdoor Council staff and our partners at NOLS and Wyoming Wilderness Association will be out in the Red Desert, hosting the eighth annual Run the Red trail races. If you’re joining us, I look forward to seeing you! If not, I encourage you to get outside with friends or family to celebrate everything Wyoming offers us.
Whether you are camping in the Bighorns, riding your bike through Vedauwoo, or hunting pronghorn in the Great Divide Basin, the Outdoor Council wishes you a very happy Wyoming Public Lands Day. It is also important to acknowledge that all public land was once Tribal land. Remember to visit with respect as many of these places are sacred to the distinct Tribal nations that have both historical and contemporary connections to Wyoming’s public lands.
Be safe and responsible. Have fun. Give thanks.
P.S. Vedauwoo’s name comes from Biito’owu’, an Arapaho word for Earth.
The following blog post was written by Shane Heavin, our 2022 summer migration policy and outreach intern.
What would it feel like to stand in front of the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and ask them to spend $2 million to create access to public lands that are landlocked by private land? As an intern for the Wyoming Outdoor Council, I did just that. And I’m here to tell you it’s not as scary as it sounds.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently made a deal with Uinta Livestock Grazing Partnership, Belle Butte Grazing Partnership, and Bear River Land and Grazing to lease approximately 91,760 acres of private lands bordering roughly 110,000 acres of public lands. The payout will be $400,000 per year for five years and will also lock in public access to the private land for an additional 25 years, ensuring 30 years of public access to public lands inside the Bear River Divide Hunter Management Area. WOC favors this deal as it provides access to public lands, and public lands are what WOC is all about. The Outdoor Council’s long history of public lands advocacy is why I spoke to the commission in support of the Bear River HMA project.
Game and Fish makes it simple to give public comments at a meeting, and there are two ways to sign up to testify. The first is to fill out an electronic form regarding the topic you want to discuss while attending the meeting via Zoom. The second way is to fill out the same document on paper while signing in to attend the meeting in person. You do not have to tell the Game and Fish Commission whether you agree or disagree with the WGFD on the subject or specifically what you want to say, just that you have an opinion you want them to hear.
My supervisor, WOC’s program director, Kristen Gunther, introduced me to WGFD personnel Sean Bibbey, who is knowledgeable about this topic and has put tremendous work into making the Bear River project a reality. I was allowed to ask questions about the undertaking and given complete information about the Bear River HMA project. This made it easy to better understand the issue and write an informed testimony to present to the commission.
The last pieces of the puzzle to effectively speaking to an authoritative group are moral support and building relationships. Moral support and building relationships are among the most significant factors in effectively addressing an audience. Kristen introduced me to several employees of the WGFD and other experts so that I could learn as much as possible about the Bear River HMA project. Kristen also helped me edit my testimony to ensure it was clear and competent. Again, the point of the testimony is not to agree or disagree with WGFD’s position but to effectively convey the interests of the Wyoming Outdoor Council.
Kristen provided moral support by going with me to meet key members of the Bear River HMA project and was present when I testified in front of the Game and Fish Commission in support of the Bear River HMA. Kristen’s moral support also allowed me to build relationships with WGFD staff that will last well into the future. The fantastic thing about these relationships is that the people you have formed them with will also provide moral support once established. Relationships are like a snowballing effect into moral support. I am not saying that people will always agree with you, but they will want the best for you and sometimes point out things you do not see or understand that may change your point of view.
In this case, attending preceding WGFD events and meetings was a critical part of relationship building. Speaking with WGFD personnel about the subject you are interested in shows them that you are willing to put in the work to research the topic and listen to their point of view. For example, I attended all three days of July’s Game and Fish Commission meeting. Daily attendance allowed me to become more familiar with the commission members and also allowed me to meet some of the commissioners before I had to speak in front of them.
“Speaking with WGFD personnel about the subject you are interested in shows them that you are willing to put in the work to research the topic and listen to their point of view.”
— SHANE HEAVIN, migration policy and outreach intern
Studying the Bear River HMA project materials, speaking with the WGFD about the project, attending many Game and Fish meetings, and having Kristen’s support gave me the confidence I needed to convey WOC’s interest to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
And so, on July 19, I gave testimony to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. I thanked the WGFD, Uinta Livestock Grazing Partnership, Belle Butte Grazing Partnership, and Bear River Land and Grazing for the work they did on this project. I also asked them to approve WGFD’s request to spend $2 million to ensure public access to public lands inside the Bear River HMA. Whether or not my testimony had any effect on the outcome, I do not know. What I do know is that the Wyoming Outdoor Council gave me the confidence I needed to testify and that my voice was heard. If my voice can be heard, so can yours.
By the way, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission unanimously passed the request to lease public access to the Bear River HMA.
This spring, John Mionczynski a local ethnobotanist, biologist, and historian, accompanied Citizens for the Red Desert into the landscape to help educate and inform tour participants about the natural wonders and uses of the desert ecosystem. Above, you can see him pointing out the geological anomalies of the Great Divide Basin as tour participants take in the dramatic expanse of badlands throughout the Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study Area. Off in the distance, stand the Oregon Buttes, another WSA. Part of Mionczynski’s knowledge includes the abundance of edible and medicinal foods that grow throughout the Red Desert. Pictured above, he digs up biscuit root for tour participants and explains how this root vegetable was a staple for an Indigenous diet, often ground into flour and made into bread. Later on the tour, near a bubbling spring, Mionczynski explained how water is a precious resource. This spring, and others like it, are scattered across the desert and attract wildlife from miles around and support a thriving habitat.
In late May, CfRD joined Southwest Wyoming Off-Road Trails on a tour to explore the motorized recreation potential of the area. This is one of many groups who add value to the desert and show that working together can simultaneously support the landscape, stimulate local economies, and empower our communities. Above, you can see the way these ORV enthusiasts spent their day in the desert, taking in the scenes near Oregon Buttes and the White Mountains.
On June 28, members of Citizens for the Red Desert spent another day in the desert, visiting three sacred petroglyph sites and the Boars Tusk. Yufna Soldier Wolf, the Tribal advocacy coordinator for the Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming, is pictured above, discussing ways in which we can better manage and protect these sites, especially within the context of the forthcoming Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan.
Join Michael and other photographers by submitting your own shot of Wyoming for the Outdoor Council’s 2023 Calendar Contest. You can enter your photos via Instagram or email. To submit your photo(s) via Instagram, you must have a public Instagram account so that we’re able to view your submission. Upload your photo(s) and add the hashtag #OurWyoming.
When Michael Lee told me the story behind the cover photo of last year’s calendar, he admitted that it sounded like a story that could have had an awful ending. We’re all glad it didn’t—and that, rather, it ended with a photograph that captured a sweeping vista of the valley below and the Little Bighorn River.
Lee, a professional photographer, and his wife, who live in a suburb north of Chicago, have been visiting Wyoming for years. This particular shot was taken in 2020, although the story started four years earlier in 2016.
That year, Lee and his wife were driving around the Bighorn National Forest in the fall, just before hunting season was to begin. “As a photographer, I’m always looking for things to photograph,” he says. “We had been driving down a dirt road quite a ways. It was late in the afternoon and we were just waiting for the light to change. We had pulled over at a spot in the road where there was a view of an elk herd in the valley below. My wife was making popcorn on our propane stove.”
That’s when a big pickup truck pulled up next to them and a father and son duo stepped out. The four got to chit chatting and the father and son introduced themselves as the Buchanan’s from Casper who were scouting for wildlife because they had drawn a tag to hunt there. That’s when the father turned to them and said, “Well, if you like this view, we’ll have to show you another one you’ll like even better.”
Without a second thought, or consulting his wife, Lee said yes. As Lee climbed into the back of the Buchanan’s cab first, at the insistence of his wife, the father turned around to reassure them that “the guns were in the backseat with them.”
The four drove down the dirt road for another 10 minutes before they pulled over again, adjacent to a dense forest. The father beckoned into the woods and said, “It’s this way.”
Lee laughs, “It sounds like the plot is thickening, doesn’t it? But we walked for about 100 yards, and emerged from the trees to the very view you see on the cover of the calendar.”
The four lingered for awhile at the vista, talking and getting to know one another, before they headed back to the pickup, unscathed.
The picture on the cover was taken two years ago when the Lee’s returned to Wyoming on their annual trip, and decided to try to find the spot again, even though neither of them had marked it on a map. There is a name for the place, Lee says, but he doesn’t know it. He calls it Buchanan’s Bluff.
The experience—”Just a couple of Wyomingites offering to show us something cool”—was more proof for Lee that Wyomingites are pretty trustworthy and friendly. He’s even stayed in touch with the Buchanan’s over the years, swapping emails every once and awhile.
“I’ve got a few Wyomingites in my rolodex,” he says. “You never know when you want to stop in and have a good meal.”
“I’ve got a few Wyomingites in my rolodex,” he says. “You never know when you want to stop in and have a good meal.”
— Michael Lee
The Lee’s return to Wyoming, or at least the West, every year. Lee’s been to Wyoming more than any other place, and has probably been to more places in Wyoming than in his own state, he admits. Although he loves the people that he encounters when he travels in Wyoming, he admits that Wyoming is special for its lack of people—which is a sharp contrast to his day-to-day life in Chicago.
He also loves the diversity of the Wyoming landscape. How in many parts of it appears so empty, yet those places are so rich with life and beauty. From the rugged mountains to the dry windy desert, to the warm welcoming people. Wyoming is a place that has not seen the kind of dense industrial development that he is used to in Chicago and his home state of Wisconsin.
He first fell in love with the West as a kid when his dad took him on a road trip in 1978. But he fell in love all over again, more recently, in 2001, when he took a few months off following a stint in New York City. He visited a friend in Dallas and then continued west with a tent and a camera. “I had no idea what I was doing,” he says, as he traveled through New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming for two and a half months, just driving, taking pictures, being really dirty. “I loved every second of it.”
He hasn’t let go of that feeling. He and his wife even backpacked in Wyoming for their honeymoon. When I asked him why he doesn’t just live here, he said the realities of life keep him in Chicago. It is there that he has the closeness of family and a community and more professional opportunities as a photographer. The jobs he is able to take there are consistent, interesting, and fun. This work and life in Chicago, affords him the ability to make a special visit to Wyoming once a year and completely shut his phone off.
He doesn’t, however, shut his camera off, rather, he likes to use it as a way to give back to the places that he frequently visits and wants to support. “All of these places need all the help they can get,” he says. “And anyone who visits should, and could, do a little extra to take care of the place, like donating. But anyone can do that, and what I can do is a little different—provide photographs that organizations can use to raise awareness or get more people to open their checkbooks. That’s something these organizations don’t usually have a budget for.” He’s happy to be able to contribute to these causes in a special way. “It doesn’t cost me anything, and if my photograph can help raise awareness or convince a politician to vote a certain way or support a certain action, well, that’s just icing on the cake.”
The Wyoming Outdoor Council’s mission is to protect Wyoming’s environment and quality of life now and for future generations. I’ll admit that sometimes those two words, “future generations,” feel far off to me. They refer to my newly-born niece, yes, but also grandchildren and great grandchildren who I may never meet. Although none of us has a crystal ball to predict the future, we each have the present moment to make decisions that will have ripple effects into the future. That’s how we can all make an impact.
I recently talked to two Outdoor Council members who might be characterized as “the next generation.” One, Ted Rittle, is 18 years old and just enrolled at the University of Wyoming. The other, Nicole Gautier, is in her early thirties and works for UW as a research scientist. They both have chosen to donate to the Outdoor Council, and we wanted to find out why.
Their reasons are layered, but there was a similar thread of seeing their parents and others committed to a cause, be it conservation, or botany, or the outdoors, and supporting the things they loved. It was these real-life experiences that played a role in their own decisions to become Outdoor Council members. The actions they’re taking as young adults ensure a better future for Wyoming and for those who come after them.
THE FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT
Ted Rittle was born and raised in Laramie, Wyoming, where he currently lives and studies math education at UW. Talking to him, he has a prolific sense of place that I wish I had had when I was his age. He’s a self-taught fly fisherman who has developed his own favorite spots in the nearby mountains and rivers in just a few years. Although the rest of his family doesn’t fish as often, Rittle said his parents took him outdoors frequently growing up, where they would hike, camp, and Nordic ski. It was there that he learned to appreciate nature, especially wildlife.
When it came to acting on this value, Rittle also had his parents to look up to. His father, Keith, served on the Outdoor Council board for many years and both his parents talked about the importance of donating 10 percent of one’s income to causes you support.
“I came to really love the wildlife and want to support it,” he said. “There are certainly some special places in Wyoming that helped instill this in me — the Platte River Wilderness, for example. We’ve gone there since I was young. It’s so neat how much wildlife there was there. That really emphasized the importance of preserving the wilderness. I guess that helped me see the value of protected open spaces, too.”
Wanting to go along with this idea and only just having started working, Rittle joined the Outdoor Council in 2021 and became one of our youngest members. (You may remember a story we did last year about our youngest, Jules Goldwarg, who was just six.)
“Protecting wildlife in Wyoming’s open spaces is one of the reasons I chose to donate to the Outdoor Council,” he said of the decision. He said he’s seen WOC’s work on migration corridors and wildlife habitat, and donating felt in line with his values of promoting wildlife habitat.
“To me, it’s so neat to see other species out there, just going about their lives. I want to make sure they’re able to keep being here.”
He plans to donate every year, he says, as well as stay involved in other conservation efforts such as citizen science efforts led by the local branch of the Audubon Society and Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project.
THE YOUNG PROFESSIONAL
Nicole Gautier, too, had a childhood steeped in the outdoors. She grew up in Oregon, with parents who had botany backgrounds. She remembers many hikes where her parents would eagerly identify the plants along their route. She remembers, too, that they were active in their state’s Native Plant Society. What she remembers most was always being outside — a value that’s remained a throughline in her life.
Gautier moved to Wyoming six years ago as a student in the Teton Science Schools’ graduate program, which has a focus on place-based, natural science education. Prior to that, she had led outdoor education programs at a variety of small organizations in the West but had found that the science component was lacking. When she found the Science Schools’ program, and its partnership with the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at UW, she applied enthusiastically. After finishing the program, she was offered a position at the Haub School and, again, eagerly accepted.
“I wanted to stay in Wyoming and I was excited to stay in Laramie because of its access to public lands. Being an avid recreationist, climbing and running is how I like to spend my time. The variety of landscapes in Wyoming, from mountains to desert, still leaves me feeling that there’s so much to explore here,” she said.
Her first introduction to the Outdoor Council was through Run the Red in 2017, where she ran and the Outdoor Council was a sponsor. She had never been to the Red Desert before and was impressed — both by the rugged beauty of the area as well as the work of the conservation groups advocating its protection.
It was 2020 when she decided she wanted to give back and chose the Outdoor Council based on the good, recognizable work she saw, through our communications and events, as well as her own network of friends and colleagues.
“The projects [WOC is] working on are very tangible. I’ve been to the Red Desert and seen how special that place is,” she said. “That personal connection was part of it, too.”
She encourages other people to engage with their values in the same way.
“Consider the landscapes you’ve spent time in in Wyoming,” she said, “and then ask yourself, how might I give back?’ Giving $20 can be an easy way to feel a small part of this organization that has similar values,” she said.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
I write this at that time of year when many of us get reflective — looking back and making plans, seeing where we can improve, and setting goals to do so. There are many ways to engage in this practice, and many involve asking thoughtful questions of yourself. It can be framed as simply as Gautier’s: “What do I have to give?” Perhaps your answer is 15 minutes to write an email to your local legislator, or $20 to become a member supporting a cause you value, or a weekend to do volunteer trail work.
Or the question could be as big as, “What’s the legacy I want to leave behind for future generations, and that I could start now?” The answer could be the same. You don’t know who is watching even your smallest action.
We commend and thank Rittle and Gautier for their support. Along with them, and countless others, we look forward to creating a strong, more connected community of members, this and every year.
Advocating for conservation in Wyoming is demanding work, both for the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s staff and for passionate members like you. Not only are there more issues than we can possibly address as a small organization in a geographically large state, but for people with big hearts and a love for the wild, open spaces of Wyoming, the outcomes are personal.
We don’t always win. When we do find success, as frequent as it may be, it’s often in the form of a quiet victory or incremental change. The forces working against us — whether it’s government inertia or downright hostile opposition from other stakeholders — can often feel overwhelming.
But we aren’t in this alone. After all, we have each other.
Poll after poll shows that the vast majority of our fellow Wyomingites — even if they don’t consider themselves “conservationists” — value public lands, wide open spaces, wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Our challenge is to meet people where they are and attempt to find common ground. The more we make these connections, value multiple perspectives, and seek input from a diversity of people outside of our organization in Wyoming and beyond, the more likely we are to succeed in our mission.
However difficult it may be, an honest and respectful conversation with a person who disagrees with our position does more good than assuming we have all the answers.
Everything we hope to accomplish depends on relationships. Wyoming is a state where a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can seek creative solutions to tough problems and make a difference. And, as you’ll read in the coming pages, positive things can happen when a group of people with diverse perspectives put their heads together around an issue of mutual concern instead of staying in their own camps.
Everything we hope to accomplish depends on relationships. Wyoming is a state where a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can seek creative solutions to tough problems and make a difference.
Thank you for being part of the Outdoor Council community in 2022. I take comfort in knowing, despite the obstacles and the slow pace of change, we’re all in this together. I hope you’ll remember that as well.
Risks must be addressed before “advanced” nuclear reactors come to Wyoming
Wyoming’s energy sector is a critical element of our state’s economy, providing revenue for public services and good-paying jobs that support our communities. Most of the energy we produce is exported and, as such, our energy economy is heavily influenced by the global market, which is rapidly turning towards decarbonization. Nuclear energy is a carbon-neutral power source, one that the federal Department of Energy considers critical for combating climate change. But boondoggles in other states and countries demonstrate that thenew, untested technologies supported by the federal government pose economic, environmental, and safety risks that must be thoroughly considered before “advanced” nuclear reactors are constructed in Wyoming.
Elected officials in Wyoming have voiced support for an experimental nuclear power plant known as the Natrium project, proposed by Rocky Mountain Power and TerraPower, a nuclear design and development firm founded by Bill Gates.
Gates, Gov. Mark Gordon, and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm unveiled the proposal to much fanfare this June, touting the potential for diversifying the state’s energy economy and job market while adding zero-emissions power generation to the grid. The reactor is planned to be built on the site of one of several coal-fired power plants that Rocky Mountain Power’s parent company PacifiCorp plans to close in the coming years — in the communities of Kemmerer, Rock Springs, Glenrock, and Gillette. It comes with a $1 billion minimum price tag (capped at a potential $4 billion), half of which will be funded by the federal government, and is a sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses molten metal rather than water as coolant. The developers want to have the plant in service by 2028.
Some elements of the proposed project are sound. Building the demonstration reactor on the site of an existing coal-fired power plant reduces the need to disturb undeveloped land. Equally important, taking advantage of existing electrical transmission lines will minimize impacts on the surrounding land, simplify the permitting process, and avoid potential conflicts with private landowners. And endeavoring to train and employ local workers could provide a new source of economic stability in coal communities.
But there are reasons to question the hype around this project.
Economics
Natrium is not a silver bullet to solve Wyoming’s economic woes. While nuclear plants could fill some gaps in the workforce left by closing coal-fired power plants, they would not replace the mineral royalties that provide the bulk of funding for state services, local governments, and schools. Revenue for the state would come from taxes on the electricity that is generated, and TerraPower and Rocky Mountain Power have already approached the Wyoming Legislature seeking tax cuts.
Nuclear power is expensive and getting pricier, while other existing, properly-vetted energy technologies are already cheaper than coal and continue to become more affordable. Between 2009 and 2020, the cost of solar power generation went down by 90 percent and the cost of wind energy declined 70 percent. Natural gas also became more affordable. Meanwhile, the cost of electricity from coal stayed largely stable and the cost of nuclear power increased by 33 percent.
Around the country, other advanced reactor projects have invariably been over budget, years behind schedule, and underperforming — if they work at all.
Duke Energy abandoned a recent nuclear energy project with an estimated cost of $5 billion when costs ended up exceeding $22 billion, but not before the Florida Public Service Commission approved passing on $800 million in excess costs to ratepayers for a project that never produced a kilowatt of energy.
South Carolina’s Public Service Commission approved a massive nuclear energy project at a cost of $9 billion. The project was ultimately abandoned, never producing energy and leaving ratepayers to pick up the tab.
The Vogtle plant in Georgia — currently under construction and six years behind schedule — had an estimated cost of $14 billion but costs have now soared to at least $26 billion. In mid-October that state’s Public Service Commission struck an agreement allowing Vogtle to pass on $2.1 billion in construction costs to ratepayers.
The seven-year timeline for completing the Natrium project is ambitious in itself. Combined with the many additional hurdles the developers face — scaling up an unproven technology, conducting an environmental review of the yet-unknown location, the potential need for state lawmakers (who have their own concerns) to pass legislation to facilitate the project — delays seem all but inevitable. As we’ve seen, that means higher costs.
Safety
Sodium-cooled fast reactors are theoretically less prone to meltdown than conventional nuclear reactors because they use liquid metal as coolant, rather than water. Sodium’s boiling point is higher than the reactor temperature, meaning the coolant can never boil or vaporize and the system does not need to be pressurized. But there’s a catch: Liquid sodium catches fire if exposed to air or water. Sodium-cooled reactors in other countries have experienced leaks that have led to fires and shutdowns, including the Monju project in Japan and the Superphénix in France.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is looking to streamline public processes for advanced nuclear projects, including safety and environmental reviews. The agency is considering a “generic” environmental impact statement for all advanced nuclear reactors across the country, rather than reviewing specific sites in detail. We shouldn’t be cutting corners on health and safety to rush through an untested technology, and Wyoming’s harsh climate and seismic activity underscore the need for site-specific reviews. It’s also important to note that the NRC is considering placing advanced reactors in rural areas as an added “safety” measure so fewer people would be harmed in the event of a catastrophe.
Nuclear power plants must store all their waste on site, encased in concrete casks. Yucca Mountain in Nevada was identified by Congress in 1987 as the nation’s permanent underground nuclear waste repository, but it was never constructed and all progress has been halted for more than a decade. No state in the U.S. is willing to accept long-term or permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel — and the Wyoming Outdoor Council and our members have long opposed legislative proposals that would allow Wyoming to accept and “temporarily” store spent fuel rods. Our advocacy and a multitude of citizen voices resulted in the defeat of the legislature’s most recent storage proposal in 2019.
Initially, TerraPower suggested that it would implement a “breed and burn” reactor that would effectively recycle its own waste by accepting depleted uranium. The company has since changed plans to a more conventional “once through” approach that would create more waste. And, even if a “breed and burn” reactor was used, it would take hundreds of years to recycle a significant portion of the fuel.
Questions remain
Generally, the Wyoming Outdoor Council supports diversifying our energy sector and addressing decarbonization, both to combat climate change and shore up our state economy that for too long has been dependent on volatile fossil fuel markets. But we are skeptical of unproven, fast-tracked technologies that rely on taxpayer funding to be economically viable. And we are unwilling to gamble with this level of risk to the environment, public health and safety, and Wyoming’s ratepayers.
Nuclear power will continue to play a role as U.S. utilities move toward zero-emissions energy, and there is the potential for new, advanced nuclear plants to complement renewables like wind and solar that are rapidly being added to the grid. The Natrium project itself has the potential to help at least one Wyoming community stay strong in the face of a coal plant closure. But there can be no half measures if Natrium is to become a reality. The people of Wyoming must have thorough, site-specific safety and environmental reviews before this experimental project moves forward. Ratepayers need to be protected from runaway construction costs. And all of us, especially our elected officials, need to remember that building a single power plant is not the silver bullet that will diversify Wyoming’s economy and provide a good quality of life for future generations.
For better or worse, the past year and a half taught us many things. In Wyoming, as in much of the United States, we witnessed one of the most profound and palpable lessons: a heightened appreciation for and desire to be outdoors as more and more people sought out natural places to find a mental and emotional reprieve from the uncertain times we were faced with.
In many ways, Wyomingites are lucky to have a broad array of ways to enjoy the outdoors within the varied terrain and open spaces the state has to offer. On any given weekend afternoon, you can visit any patch of green space and see all types of people enjoying all types of activities. As the Outdoor Council, we want to honor that — the ways in which being outside is different for everyone and how none is any less valuable. We want to honor the fact that you take the time to even get outside. The understanding that we all bring our own experiences, upbringings, cultures, and perspectives to the outdoors and to our enjoyment of nature makes it more relevant and accessible — and in time helps us better protect the shared places that we all love in our own ways.
We all see the Instagram stories and Facebook posts of people’s adventurous feats: ascending the sheer walls of Pingora in the Wind River Range, packrafting down the Green River, running to the summit of Medicine Bow Peak, pedaling the Grand Traverse, or backpacking miles in to a remote backcountry site. And while these feats are admirable and inspiring, they are not everyone’s reality, nor should they be.
We’re capable of just as much delight in the neighborhood City Park in Lander, picnicking with our families, watching children play in the cool waters in the heat of the day, camping with friends in the shadow of the Oregon Buttes, fishing along the Snake River, or spotting the first Western Tanager of spring in the tree near our homes. Nature, and its resiliency, is everywhere when we look for it, especially when we take the time to step out of doors and appreciate it — in whatever way we can, in whatever way we want, with whatever time and gear we have.
While other people’s adventurous spirits and athletic pursuits can be motivational, there is also boundless awe and wonder much closer and easier to attain. This year, here’s to finding meaning and enjoyment anywhere and any way that you chose to. We’re grateful for the opportunity to celebrate how you get outside and find your place in the outdoors.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Entries must be submitted between July 15, 2021, and before midnight on September 15, 2021, either via email (claire@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org) or Instagram, using the hashtag #OurWyoming. By entering, all contestants agree to release their photo to the Wyoming Outdoor Council for publication purposes. The Outdoor Council will select the winning photos, which will be published in the 2022 calendar. All submitted photos are subject to use.
Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow your entered photographs, as well as your name and the place the photograph was taken, to be published in the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 2022 calendar and on the Outdoor Council’s website to promote the annual photo contest. Reproduction of entries will include the necessary photographer credit.
Photograph entries constitute permission to use the images in this manner with credit to the photographer without monetary compensation. Contest entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of the photographs they enter. Use of the entered photos in any other fashion or in any other publications will only occur with permission from the entrant.
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.
For 54 years the work of the Wyoming Outdoor Council has carried on, made possible by the support of our members. Your passion for Wyoming’s outdoors and willingness to take action to protect it have been a constant. Of course, financial support is also critical to our success, but we learned long ago not to gauge the dedication or generosity of our members based on the dollar amount contributed. In fact, our most generous gift in recent memory was also one of the smallest: $2.
We don’t have a way to confirm this, but those eight quarters may also have come from our youngest donor ever.
Jules Goldwarg is a 6-year-old from Bozeman, Montana. He’s the son of Outdoor Council members Eric Goldwarg and Emily Ridgway, a great nephew of former board member Hap Ridgway, and a big brother to Alden, 4, and Louisa, 1.
The family has a cabin in Sunlight Basin near Cody, where Emily is part owner of the dude ranch and summer camp her family has operated since the 1950s. They spend as much time there as they’re able.
“Jules just decided he loves Wyoming,” Eric said. Horseback riding and exploring the area around the cabin are some of his favorite things to do, and this summer he hiked up Windy Mountain in the Absaroka Range with his cousins. Catching grasshoppers to study (or feed to the trout in Elk Creek) is another popular pastime.
“I also like looking for animal bones with my brother,” Jules said. “We’ve found like 12 cow skulls, and jaws of animals too. And we’ve found antlers up there.”
Jules with his brother, Alden.
Jules with his cousins at Elk Creek Ranch.
Back home in Bozeman, the whole family skis, hikes, and mountain bikes, and Jules accompanies his dad on pheasant hunts. But they work hard, too. Eric is an attorney, Emily is a physician, and Jules has an ambitious list of chores.
Helping with the dishes, making his bed, and fetching firewood for the cabin are priorities, but he also cleans his room, feeds the dogs, and keeps his things organized for school. And he picks up pine cones in the yard, even though that’s too much fun to be considered a chore.
The payoff: 25 cents a day in allowance, or slightly less if he’s gotten an advance to buy a gumball.
“I get my allowance on Sunday. Once I get it, I put it in my piggy bank to save. My idea is to save it for college even though I have absolutely not enough… I don’t even have enough for one year of college.”
Mom and dad are putting some money aside too, Eric assures him.
Late last year, the Outdoor Council’s annual photo calendar had just arrived and Jules was flipping through it.
“You were looking through the calendar and enjoying it, and there was that little donation envelope, right?” Eric reminded him. “And you read the envelope and wanted to know what it meant and why they ask for money.”
After some thought, Jules decided he should send $2 to help the places in Wyoming he loves most, like the mountains he explores with his family and the creek where he catches grasshoppers.
It’s not every day someone recognizes that what they value most about Wyoming needs to be protected if it is to endure, and that they have the power to make that possible. And it’s certainly not every day that someone feels moved to give two weeks’ of their hard-earned pay to an organization like ours. We’re grateful for all of our members, but a special thanks goes out to Jules for surprising us with his thoughtful generosity — and his parents for inspiring a new generation to be good stewards of Wyoming’s outdoors.
