A stupid program designed to help a tiny number of people in a vain attempt to “help to safeguard the County’s economic and cultural viability” (the purpose, according to the County Commissiors).
If these people wanted to safeguard their economic and cultural viability, they should have opposed the massive natural gas industrialization of Sublette County. Talk about a day late and 50-billion dollars short!
Sublette County supports Green River dam. Booster says Warren Bridge site is best location for impoundment on main stem of river. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Jackson Hole, Wy. Jackson Hole News and Guide.
Print Friendly
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 past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
Actually, the purpose of such a dam would be to get more water to a few ranchers in the Upper Green, who, by the way, are also beneficiaries of Wyoming’s elk feedgrounds. A pretty selfish bunch.
Also, the comment about the antelope migration is simply false. Archeological investigations have found that the migration of pronghorns along the Upper Green migration corridor is at least 6000 years old. Osborne Russell, who trapped beaver in Rockies from 1834 to 1843, describes in his journal thousands of pronghorn moving along the corridor to winter range in the Green River Basin.
Ugh… You want to see some so-called eco-terrorism? Start building that dam.
note: I do not endorse terrorism of any kind.
note number two: but if I did, it would be the eco-kind.
I don’t think extra-legal means will be necessary here. The proposal has no merit and costs far more than any so-called economic benefits that would come from it–those benefits would go only to a few “known to be extra-greedy” ranchers anyway. Also, the existence of the pronghorn migration corridor has captured the imaginations of many people who both live here and those who don’t. This is something we can kill politically and legally.