When the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sent 45 public land, forest, park, and water bills to the floor on May 7, the measures included closure of 1.2 million federal acres in Wyoming to future oil and gas leasing.
“Natural gas prices are up 48% over this time last year, and consumers could pay as much as $85.9 billion more for gas in 2008 vs. 2007,” said Paul N. Cicio, president of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America. “At a time when every homeowner, farmer, and manufacturer is suffering from high energy costs, this is not the time for Congress to withdraw access to large amounts of natural gas.”
But S. 2229 has the support of the Cowboy State’s two US senators, Republicans John Barrasso and Mike Enzi; its governor, Democrat Dave Freudenthal; and many others because it involves a mountain range that is 100 miles long, 12,000 ft high, and named for the state.
It also is a bill that Barrasso’s predecessor, Craig L. Thomas, was spearheading before he died on June 4, 2007. “This legislation, [which] Craig Thomas was ready to introduce the week he passed, goes to the very heart and soul of Wyoming,” Barrasso said when he introduced the measure on Oct. 25.
‘Simply too special’
After the bill passed the committee on May 7, Barrasso said he promised voters that he would continue Thomas’s work to preserve the Wyoming Range. “I strongly support oil and gas development in our state, but I also believe that some places are simply too special to develop,” he said.
Barrasso said that S. 2229 respects current leaseholders’ property rights in the Wyoming Range and Bridger-Teton National Forest by allowing other parties, presumably conservation groups, to buy the leases and retire them. It does not prevent future production from current leases.
About 4,300 producing oil and gas wells in the three counties covered by the legislation and 4,399 proposed wells would not be affected, Barrasso added.
Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States Executive Director Marc W. Smith often reminds me that IPAMS members are avid fishermen and sportsmen. So I asked for his reaction to the bill.
Abundant in energy
“IPAMS recognizes the sensitivity of the Wyoming Range and the special place it holds for the people of Wyoming. In addition to being abundant in beauty, it also is prospectively abundant in critical energy resources,” he responded.
IPAMS is very concerned about removing areas from future production, he continued. It also recognizes that Barrasso made important changes in response to industry concerns. “The bill provides voluntary, not mandatory, options for leaseholders and allows for continued activity and potential growth in existing producing fields,” Smith said.
The next step is to identify areas appropriate for energy development and places most critical to protect in the Wyoming Range, he said.
