Governor: Forest deal ‘suspect’ – Federal government gave energy company broad influence over study of Wyoming Range. By Noah Brenner and Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo. Jackson Hole News and Guide.
In the process of drilling a well on public land, granting of the lease is the most important legal step. Once the lease is granted, it is almost impossible to stop a well from being drilled short of buying back the lease.
When the government gives a lease or sells a lease, it has transferred a property right. If the Forest Service is in bed with the drilling industry to issue leases without proper analysis, it is actually a form of theft from the public.
Good to see the governor taking some action to protect the Wyoming mountain range. This is a very unstable mountain range. It is subject to mass movement (landslides of all sizes when roads are built). It is also a very scenic range and just full of elk. It could also have a large bighorn sheep herd and lots of wolves and bears, but the livestock industry, especially the sheep industry has kept the bighorns in jeopardy, put the wolves of the area into Wyoming’s new wolf-are-now-vermin zone, and have kept black bear numbers low.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.
