Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2023
May – June 2023, Volume 51, Number 3 In May, Powder River joined with Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) to advocate for stronger federal onshore oil and gas bonding requirements. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering a rule that would update onshore oil and gas lease sales. […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter September – October 2022
September – October 2022, Volume 50, Number 5 Powder River turns a half century old this year! Our founding members joined together in 1973 for the organization’s first annual meeting of the membership, and on Nov. 5 in Sheridan we’ll celebrate the golden anniversary of our annual meetings. The staff and board are excited to […]
Groups challenge massive Wyoming drilling, fracking project on behalf of wildlife and communities
Conservation groups have filed a legal challenge targeting the Converse County Oil & Gas Project in the southern Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The massive 5,000 oil well project , approved under the Trump administration, is projected to have a major impact in air quality locally and regionally, including in treasured landscapes of neighboring national […]
Report on Federal Leasing Pause Finds No Dip Western States’ Economies
The pause on oil and gas leasing President Biden ordered upon taking office has a minimal effect on national and western regional economies, according to a new report by the Conservation Economics Institute (CEI). In fact, the analysis finds that the oil and gas industry currently holds leases worth decades of drilling opportunities. The study, “Economic Effects […]
Powder River Basin Resource Council Statement on Brook Mine Permit
“The fact that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality placed 12 conditions on the permit is an indication that the Brook Mine permit is inadequate and incomplete. Currently, we are reviewing all of the conditions to make sure that the permit will protect the health and safety of the Tongue River Valley and its inhabitants.” […]
Powder River Breaks May – June 2020
May – June 2020, Volume 48, Number 3 In June, Powder River kicked off a four-part webinar series, Reclaiming & Growing Wyoming’s Future, providing education, tools, and resources available for a planned transition to a new, diversified Wyoming economy. Each session features panelists with specific areas of expertise in transitioning resource dependent communities. In the […]
Powder River Basin Resource Council Objects to Proposed Ramaco Coal Mine
Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) and many Sheridan County landowners and concerned citizens filed objections to Ramaco’s proposed Brook Mine this month. The mine is proposed approximately six miles north of Sheridan, in the scenic Tongue River Valley, an area with important agricultural and recreational attributes. Most of the objecting landowners live in […]
Powder River Breaks January – February 2020
January – February 2020, Volume 48, Number 1 Late last year, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told Powder River that they would not be approving Aethon’s permit to discharge over 8 million gallons of polluted oil and gas wastewater a day. DEQ noted that concerns raised by citizens in writing and at public […]
Powder River Breaks July – August 2019
July – August 2019, Volume 47, Number 4 Early in the morning on July 1, Blackjewel, LLC and associated companies operating 32 coal mines in Wyoming, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky filed for bankruptcy. Later that day, emergency funding fell through as banks that had previously financed the operations of Blackjewel owner Jeff Hoops no […]
Conservation Photographer to Keynote Powder River Annual Meeting
October 18, 2018 On Saturday, Nov. 3rd, Powder River Basin Resource Council will host its 46th Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan. This year’s theme, Our Water, Our Land, Our Legacy, features award-winning photographer and conservationist Michael Forsberg. For the last 25 years, Forsberg has been dedicated to documenting wildlife and conservation stories […]
