Wyoming Range - Not all pretty pictures

I spent last week in Wyoming, mostly documenting oil and gas industrial development and a threatened area known as the Upper Hoback in the Wyoming Range. I had the good opportunity to fly with LighHawk as part of my conservation project and toured the skies over the Wyoming Range, La Barge Oil and Gas Fields, Jonah Field, Pinedale Anticline, Upper Green River Basin and Upper Hoback.

Drilling activity and single-use land management have stretched into the alpine zone, seen here on Riley Ridge in the southern end of the Wyo. Range.

La Barge Oil and Gas Field full-scale development with chemical waste ponds. Water quality is a major issue in the Upper Green River Basin. This area is just SW of Big Piney.

High-density drilling. I later visited on foot and was amazed by the lack of wildlife. Notice there is no drilling right now, but the landscape is fragmented by the the infrastructure that accompanies drilling on this scale.

The Upper Hoback in the northern Wyo. Range is a roadless, wilderness quality area proposed for 136 wells - called "Jonah In The Trees". In this scene, the Teton Range is in the top middle - this is part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Numerous conservation groups across the region contest the gas leases and the USFS is recommending no drilling. This would require purchasing and retiring the leases. I suppose some would say we can't afford to buy them back and just let the drilling happen, but...

... I also visited on foot and spent an evening on Lookout Peak, overlooking the grand scale of 44,000 acres slated for industrial destruction. I watched the tundra change to cinammon honey and storm clouds over The Winds absorb magenta light before fading to gray, then black. I saw a moose, great gray owl, and a white-crowned sparrow nest with chicks in my short time here. I stood on this peak and the only signs of human presence in any direction are a cairn and a deleted two-track far below. I walked down in darkness, talking to imaginary bears and asked how is it possible that we would drill this?

I've shared the images with the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Citizens for the Protection of The Wyoming Range. I've voiced my opposition with the USFS Bridger-Teton office.

For the record, I'm not anti-drilling. I'm for responsible land management and a sustainable plan for the West. And some places are simply too wild to drill.

The end.

Mmmm, cinnamon honey...

It is a very tough issue. How do we lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy if we can't drill where we, the people, already own vast reserves? Yet, how do we keep areas like this out of the hands of energy producers, and thus, protected for their vast wealth of natural wonders? It's akin to balancing on the sharp edge of a razor blade -- either way, you're gonna get cut.

Your first picture is so beautiful when I imagine it without the blight on its landscape. Great series Dave. Personally, I feel the sooner we get going full on with clean alternative energy the better. Quit talkin' about it and do it. Petroleum products and natural gas were good ideas a 100 years + ago but it is a failure in many ways and needs to be gone.

Great stuff Dave, #4 is really cool. I am sure it will be a good project.

I sure like the 'pretty picture' you captured in the last image.
This is indeed a tough issue, and as far as petroleum products needing to be gone...well, when you think about all of the everyday items we use that contain petroleum products (6000 +/-, according to one count), then I'm afraid that day is a long time in coming.

Hey Dave, were you in Paonia within the last month?

Things are indeed complicated in the West; yet we don't own vast reserves of oil and simply can't drill our way out of that need. Oil will be powering our vehicles for a long time, but we'll need new technology if we're planning on breaking the Middle East stranglehold. I don't intend to start a political rant, it's just simple math. Gas is a different story - myth number one is that it's clean. It's not clean at all to get out of the ground and Western communities pay a heavy price in air and water quality and the transient nature of riding the big swings in production. (Look no further than Rifle and the Piceance Basin) On some winter days Pinedale's air quality is worse than L.A. We do have vast reserves of natural gas that we're getting to by pumping fracking chemicals into the earth - and the gas companies don't even have to tell us what's in the chemicals. We also give away the leases, another subsidy for the wealthiest industry in the world... and we have a very low threshhold for cleanup. The leases are granted with complete indifference to science for minimal wildlife protection - which is why sage grouse are in free fall. We can do a lot better if our decisions are guided by science and we hold energy companies accountable, which is the whole point. The images shown here are from the Greater Yellowstone. Can you imagine the outrage if we announced a plan to place 136 wells, roads and infrastructure in YNP or GTNP?! Yet there's no difference from an ecolological and scientific perspective. On the bright side, every government land management agency is now considering large scale landscape planning initiatives. There is some hope and a little time.

Thank you for bringing those images to us. It's disheartening to see what our greed has done/is doing to us. Such beautiful areas!

Traveling through northern New Mexico last weekend, I did notice that the natural gas wells and equipment were painted either sandstone buff or sage green in order to blend into the landscape. A small step that doesn't come close to touching the damage fracking does. Can you imagine lighting the water coming from your faucet with a match?

Drill baby, drill! However, we do need to find a compromise in order to keep wilderness wild and to utilize land for drilling.

Very good series here. Well thought out. Tells a very interesting story and is capable of generating a lot of debate.

Thoughtful images and a challenging topic, Dave. Is there any place where drilling would be inconsequential? Not a challenge; just a rhetorical question. Either we're too close to populated areas, creating myriad problems including water, soil and air quality problems, or we're so far into the wilderness that we're threatening... wilderness.

In my over-simplified world, the root of the problem is unbounded population growth. Trying to balance energy production with conservation and/or preservation would be a remarkable challenge with a static population. Compound the challenge with an ever increasing demand.... it's likely that far more sensitive and unique areas will be lost. A sustainable energy plan seems impossible without first addressing the sticky issue of unsustainable population growth.

It wasn't long ago that the New World mine was almost developed within a few miles of Yellowstone. And that was just for gold, which is arguably less critical than oil. It was also a couple of wars and 50 million people ago....

Speaking of the New World Mine, thank God this area was saved and the mine shut down. There is still a lot of restoration to be done but it's coming along. This area is some of the most spectacular country in Montana. My image of the fireweed posted in the June, July topic is right below the mine. Still not wilderness but I consider this a real win. Dave I'll say it again, the best thing we can do is take pictures of these areas and teach our kids to respect the land.

Great series Dave! And Dean put it best: we can all do our part by documenting the wilderness and pass on our great experiences to others.

Things are indeed complicated in the West; yet we don't own vast reserves of oil

Curious what you mean by this. We have more oil than we know what to do with here. It's the where and how we get it I'm assuming you are talking about.

I feel the sooner we get going full on with clean alternative energy the better

I would too, but unfortunately there isn't anything viable right now. There was just a big article here in Denver last week about how buy $5000-10000 worth of solar panels to put on your roof to lower your electricity rate by $150 a month.

Interesting topic.

Well, I see we can get pretty far afield from the concept that some places are simply too wild to drill and that although things are messed up, we have options. We can respect our right to clean air and water while mapping sensitive areas and core sage grouse habitat. Some places like the Jonah Field will be sacrificial landscapes for all time, but we still don't have to make the permitting process too easy. And why can't we find out what's in proprietary fracking chemicals? Why does the Roan Plateau need to be drilled from the top when it can be directionally drilled from existing sites? To make it easier for developers? It's refreshing to know that the BLM, USFWS, USDA, and USFS are developing large-scale landscape intiatives to protect sensitive habitat, migration corridors, endangered species, and Western heritage. Did anyone notice that the Vermillion basin is officially off limits to drilling? A small group of committed conservationists saved an important and beautiful place.

John: Yep, I was in Paonia last month.

Brian, you're right that alternative energy has catching up to do. But we can't do nothing either. We can develop brown field first for wind and solar. And yeah, we could have a big debate about where the oil is and how to get to it - bake it out of the shale and use all of our water to move it to production, go get the the 6 months supply in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, deep water drill for crying out loud. People will believe what they want to believe about our energy reserves, yet some places are still too wild to drill aren't they?

Thanks for the lively discussion folks!

Great stuff, Dave! For how often these issues with the Wyoming Range make the news, it's surprising how few actual photos we see out of the area. Of course, I've driven right by several times in the last two years and not found time to stop, alas.

Dave I agree with what you said. Great discussion.

A very powerful and moving environmental landscape series. Hopefully your work makes a difference!

I work for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Specifically with the permitting of wells. I found the comments here very interesting. Excellent pics too Dave.

Good stuff Dave. I've tried avoiding this part of the state lately, as it's somewhat upsetting to me. It's another one of those priceless landscapes (Adobe Town anyone?) that is being totally screwed by this kind of thing. I'm not against drilling either, but is a couple of years of heating for a major city or two worth destroying huge areas of land forever? You are also right about the air quality here, I've noticed it since I've been home.

Great photos by the way.

Dave,

This is NGeo worthy...great reporting and pics...seriously!

Excellent thought provoking post, Dave! Let's hope that the best solution for us and the earth can be conceived and executed.

Great post, Dave. #1 is especially impacting to me, with the strong contrast of the drilling in what looks like otherwise pristine environment. The last shot is spectacular - these are the kinds of images that could be used in efforts to try to save a place like this where most people never visit. Good work... really good work.

Your images really show how big these fields are. Very tricky question. I know we need to find our own oil, but we do need to do the research on alternative fuel. We are going to run out some day!