Save The Hoback

 The deeper we dig the more and MORE interesting stuff we uncover.  We had no idea that the Upper Hoback River was such a hotly contested area or that the natural gas drilling was staved off.  It's quite a story.  We think it's possible drive out and camp in some of that purple area--maybe on Cliff Creek Road.  Hopefully, we will get to see some of the "rescued lands".


For a decent short video of the area and the campaign see:
https://youtu.be/jq0RwHyFsUw?feature=shared


As the southern anchor of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—the largest intact temperate natural system in the Northern Hemisphere—the Hoback Basin is home to magnificent mountains, vibrant forests, and the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Hoback River.

Generations of Americans have come here to fish, hunt, paddle, hike, or to simply enjoy Wyoming’s backcountry. But the future of this unspoiled landscape was at risk, for beneath the Hoback lies a highly valued resource—natural gas.

Specifically, Houston-based Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) had plans to drill 136 gas wells and construct 30 miles of new roads at the headwaters of the Hoback River. If approved, it would have been the only instance in the United States of a major gas field at the headwaters of a congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River.

In July 2012, Trust for Public Land reached an agreement to purchase PXP’s 58,000 acres of oil and gas leases in the Hoback Basin—with just five months to raise $8.75 million in philanthropic support to complete the deal.

Ultimately, the can-do attitude and unanimous support of our partners and the Wyoming communities of Rock Springs, Pinedale, Bondurant, Jackson, and Wilson—in addition to generous contributions from donors across the globe—led to success.

In December 2012, TPL purchased all those acres of oil and gas leases from PXP and retired them, under the 2009 Wyoming Range Legacy Act, permanently protecting the Hoback Basin from future drilling.


Source: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/hoback-basin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our typical route south

Image
We're definitely not staying up here as long as we did last year! (Christmas Day 2017) It isn't creative or "out there" but it has always served us well.  We've driven it too many times to remember.  This year we added a new wrinkle: The Brigham City Walmart parking lot. OK, here how it goes. We leave Idaho Falls mid-afternoon on a Saturday and drive to the Brigham City Walmart.  It MUST be a Saturday.  No other days will do. We don't unhitch the trailer.  We wake up as soon as possible Sunday morning and get on I-15 early, early, early!  This way we get to drive through the white knuckle gauntlet of Salt Lake City with no white knuckles.  Sometimes there are so few vehicles it seems like it's our own private interstate highway!  We beat feet through the 100-mile Belly Of The Beast, as we are wont to call it and arrive at a convenient pit stop in Payson, Utah, well before lunch time.  It's as blissful as can be, at least for hauling our ...
Read more

La Barge

Image
  La Barge touts itself as a small community nestled in the peaceful Green River Valley and claims to be "Home of The Frontier Trapper".  There's not much going on in La Barge and that's what makes The Moon Dance Diner Story stand out.  The Moon Dance Story begins as a classic "hope springs eternal" small town saga.  The once vibrant Moon Dance dreams fell on hard times and the story faded to a sad ending. It all began sometime in 2007 when lifelong La Barge residents Vince and Cheryl Pierce somehow became smitten with the idea to buy an iconic New York City diner--The Moon Dance.  The couple paid $7,500 to buy the building but then spent thousands more to move it to La Barge.   Then the real spending began and the Pierces ultimately invested around $300,000 in the little diner.  It opened with great local fanfare in late January 2009.  Unfortunately, the age-old business mantra "location, location, location" was not kind to the Moon Dance an...
Read more