Saved!
good news
in wyoming, a beloved landscape spared from drilling
After years of town-hall meetings, petitions, letter- writing, and wrangling, Wyoming residents are breathing a sigh of relief. There will be no oil and gas drilling in the Hoback Basin. Conservationists have struggled for years to protect the
Hoback from the industrial development that scars similar western landscapes. But to seal the deal—in which The Trust for Public Land purchased and retired oil and gas leases from the Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP)—required a fundraising effort that one local paper dubbed “fast and furious.” The community rallied. Locals lent their voices to a
benefit concert, while an adopt-an-acre program drew donations from across the country. A kayaking club, a brewery, union steelworkers, hunters, hikers, anglers—in less than 90 days, more than a thousand donors chipped in to the $8.75 million campaign. The diversity of the Hoback’s supporters reflects the practical spirit of conservation in a state where a strong
cultural connection to the land coexists with tough eco- nomic realities. “It’s not that Wyoming residents oppose drilling,” said
Deb Love, The Trust for Public Land’s Northern Rockies director. “Folks recognize the state is benefiting from the extraction economy. They just don’t want large-scale in- dustrial development in places that are frankly too special to drill.” The 58,000 acres conserved includes the headwaters
of the Hoback River, named America’s fifth-most endan- gered in 2012. With drilling of the unspoilt wilderness now off the table, the river basin’s rugged backcountry will continue to provide a haven for wildlife like pronghorn antelope and elk—and a treasured outdoor escape for people. “What this whole experience has taught me is that citi-
zens can make a difference,” said Hoback supporter Carl Bennet, a miner from Rock Springs. “We are the ‘public’ in ‘public land.’”
When we searched Instagram for snapshots of different ways people enjoy the Hoback, we caught newlywed climb- ers Hannah and Brock Johnson mid-smooch.
“We picked out the Ho- back because it looked super fun—and it was!” Hannah says. “We love that place.”
WATCH VIDEO
22 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68