GREATER YELLOWSTONE
Management Plans for the Upper Green River Valley Delayed.The releases of the draft Pinedale Resource Management Plan (RMP) and the South Piney coalbed methane project environmental impact statement (EIS) are now not expected until late summer or fall. When the plans are released, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and our partners in the Upper Green will ensure you are informed and know how to be involved. Contact: Bruce Pendery and Meredith Taylor

National Forest Plan Revisions: Coming Soon to a Forest Near You. Preliminary work has begun on revising both the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Shoshone National Forest management plans. The new plans will determine priorities and set policies for the forests for the next 10 years or more, so we believe it is critical for both the Wyoming Outdoor Council and the general public to weigh in. We have begun meeting with both Bridger-Teton and Shoshone national forest officials. We’ll keep you posted on how you can be involved. Contact: Meredith Taylor

Using Good Science To Guide Good Policy. The National Forest Service is required to use Management Indicator Species—or key sensitive plants and animals—to guide forest planning, but for years the Bridger-Teton has failed to fulfill this obligation. Finally this spring, after pressure from the Wyoming Outdoor Council and others, the Forest Service agreed that they have been operating illegally without Management Indicator Species designations and monitoring. Now the forest’s staff biologist has developed a list of “Ecological Indicator Species” and habitat types. Contact: Meredith Taylor

Closing the Gate: Protecting Special Places in the Wyoming Range from Development. The U.S. Forest Service has announced its intention to pursue leasing 44,600 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest for oil and gas development. These leases are primarily located in the northern portion of the Wyoming Range. Although this lease sale is considerably smaller than the one proposed and delayed due to public pressure last fall, it still contains important wildlife habitat, provides excellent hunting terrain, and is a popular recreational destination for skiers, snowmobilers, anglers and hikers. Furthermore, it is adjacent to a number of suspended leases in roadless areas that have not been developed because of access problems. We are concerned that this sale will open up these other acres, in effect nearly tripling the number of acres available for development. Furthermore, given the problem with air quality from the development already taking place in the Upper Green River Valley, we are reluctant to see more drilling occur until adequate regulations and monitoring for air quality are in place. Contact: Bruce Pendery and Meredith Taylor

A Highway Runs Through It. The Togwotee Pass Highway Reconstruction Project is slowly unfolding as summer construction season ramps up into overtime mode. The Wyoming Outdoor Council worked with Earthjustice and American Wildlands to comment on the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT)’s application to the Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to build in wetlands. The Corps’ agreed with our concern that a provisional authorization of the overall highway alignment under the current preferred alternative is likely to violate the Clean Water Act unless significant design changes are made. We—and the road builders—are now waiting for the Corps’ final decision. Meredith Taylor continues to serve as the conservation representative on the Advisory Committee for the reconstruction project. Contact: Meredith Taylor

Shoshone National Forest Timber Projects in the Works. In 2003, the Wyoming Outdoor Council won an appeal on the Wiggins Fork Timber Sale in the Shoshone National Forest near Dubois. Now an Environmental Assessment on a revised sale is due to be released this fall. The Wiggins Fork Vegetation Treatment will include 475 acres of mechanical treatment, 497 acres of lodgepole treatment, 1,318 acres of aspen restoration, and 2,218 acres of prescribed burning. The Wyoming Outdoor Council is discussing the changes with the Wind River District silviculturist to address our concerns about the impacts of the sale on recreation, wildlife and the forest ecology. In addition, there is a watershed improvement project proposed along Charlie Creek, as well as fuel reduction projects near Mad Butte, Trout Creek, Wood River, Popo Agie, Carter Mountain and the Upper Wind River. Theses projects are designed to reduce fuel loads along forest/private land boundaries through timber cuts and prescribed burns. A feasibility study exploring opportunities for bio-mass technology to provide electric power for Dubois using fuels from the fuel-reduction projects is currently being researched. The Wyoming Outdoor Council is monitoring these projects to ensure they balance the forest’s various uses and protect recreation and wildlife. Contact: Meredith Taylor

National Migration Corridor Proposal Unveiled. The Wildlife Conservation Society has released its plan for a National Migration Corridor proposal to protect the existing migration links between key habitat areas in western Wyoming. The Wyoming Outdoor Council is working with the Society to develop a strategy for public support of a Congressional designation that would protect the corridor for pronghorn and other mammals traveling from the mountain highlands of Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River Valley and Red Desert. Contact: Meredith Taylor

POWDER RIVER BASIN
Powder River Basin Coalbed Methane Boom Moderated by Pennaco Victory. The Wyoming Outdoor Council continues our efforts to ensure that the victory we had in the court case of Pennaco Energy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Interior is translated into a victory on the ground for ranchers and rivers in the Powder River Basin. The unique and unprecedented effects of rampant coalbed methane development in the Basin have continually been shown to violate laws written to protect things such as water quality, and the Wyoming Outdoor Council has found that legal advocacy is an effective tool for ensuring that development takes place in a way that minimizes its negative effects. In response to the Pennaco decision, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing new environmental analyses that should lead to better regulation of coalbed methane development in the area. In addition, in January we joined the Powder River Basin Resource Council in filing a follow-up lawsuit intended to impress upon the BLM the full implications of the Pennaco case. Finally, our separate legal challenge to the environmental impact statement (EIS) approving coalbed methane development in the Powder River Basin remains pending in the Wyoming District Court, but we are cautiously optimistic because in March the Northern Plains Resource Council received a favorable decision from the Montana District court in its challenge to the Montana coalbed methane environmental impact statement. Contact Bruce Pendery

STATEWIDE
Ancient Corridors Move Across the State. Meredith Taylor continues to take her Ancient Corridors program around the state as part of the Speaker’s Bureau for the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. This outreach program presents the prehistoric view of free-ranging wildlife herds through the Trapper’s Point bottleneck near Pinedale. She most recently presented the program at a Wildlife Society event held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and was a featured speaker at the Murie Center’s Annual Earth Day Festival in Jackson. She will also present the program at the 8th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park in October. Contact: Meredith Taylor

Legislative Update. In anticipation of the 2005 Budget Session of the Wyoming Legislature, 13 interim and select committees are examining a hodgepodge of public policy topics including natural gas valuation and taxation, minerals development using advanced technologies, establishment of utility corridors along highways, coyote management on agricultural lands, recreational use of state trust lands, temporary water rights for towns and cities, and management of municipal solid waste. For more information on study topics and meeting dates, visit the legislature’s web site or contact the Legislative Service Office at 307-777-7881. Contact: Michele Barlow