Wyoming Game and Fish Department FIRST - CLASS 5400 Bishop Blvd. sr:._: t: Ci- \' 'J0Mli\G US POSTAGE Cheyenne, WY 82006 __ COU \' Y OF f\LBANY PAID 1 Hl~_l~~~~l J:.:rr JT FILED FOR RL..""" . -U)tYE "'C_,F:-.cJ) WYOMING GAME AND FISH 2C 19 t OV 15 Mi lO: 4 2
,u C,~ hECCJRDED I .CI\ 1~ R. (,QNZ,A I t.~S I B' H •. •- '1-1 NY COUNTY CLL=:i< Terri Jones Albany County Commissioner 525 Grand Avenue Laramie, WY 82070
li iIi IiI I i1i iil1 Ii 1 Pill iiI i 11ij iiI iIi iiI iiI II iii 11 11j,, iiI i illi 1 Ungulate Carcass Disposal Summit Meeting
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will be hosting an Ungulate Carcass Disposal and Composting Summit on December 17th.
This seminar will provide all interested parties an opportunity to explore options for the handling and proper disposal of ungulate carcasses in an attempt to reduce the spread of chronic wasting disease.
The Summit will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Casper from 9am to 3pm. A complimentary lunch will be provided.
If interested in attending, please RSVP to Meghan Lockwood at [email protected] by December 1st. ST TE OF \', 'flr~JG.. /f COU N))'r1 t/P. At~~(? 1 Pilot Hill Project TH IS 11\),ST t,t... fm E~1)ffr. lr ED P'O R RytJf':"'; ;:, nLy -·\'iJ) ~r. ; /"" ~'/D)~&~· ~ ~ ~~ ' ~9 Executive Commissioner Terri Jo?e~ ~ . J ~ p pfJI . .~ Jl! r Albany County Commtsswners } rJ ,1 f.; d .q r," ·. ~c-vRD::D Oversite · {)lv CK1 ~'GONZft.LCS 525 E Gr d A S 202 yr .... Committee · an ve., wte r' !J :.LB!l.NY COUNTY CLER!\ Laramie, WY 82070 ~ l Sen. Chris Rothfuss Chairman Happy Thanksgiving Terri! Wyoming State Senate Minority Leader As winter settles in and snow begins to accumulate on Pole Mountain, we are honored to Albany County share this update on the Pilot Hill Project.
Hon. Marilyn Kite During the past six months, significant milestones have been met in the park planning phase Wyoming State Supreme Court Justice, Retired of the project. TheSE Group has been hired to develop a master plan including options for --access.sites,..traiJ..s¥,sterns.and.manageruent.strategies for Pilot Hill SF Group team members Mr. Kermit Brown visited Laramie to meet with key partners and spend time on the property in September and University of Wyoming October and will return in early 2020 for a series of community meetings. In the meantime, a Board of Trustees planning "story map" has been created on our website at www.pilothill.org/plan to provide updates and opportunities for you to engage in the process. Mr. Tony Hoch Director, Laramie River's Conservation District The Pilot Hill Community Access Days this past fall resulted in over 350 visitors to the property. Hikers, bikers and horse riders provided feedback on the experience and Ms. Terri Jones recommendations for future access and management. This feedback, along. with data gathered Albany County in our previous surveys and meetings is being integrated in planning conversations. Commissioner Collaborating with Medicine Bow National Forest staff, options for connecting trails and Mr. Bryan Schuster facilities are being explored on adjacent Forest Service property. And with an eye to future Laramie City Councilor management needs, we are drafting a shared management proposal that would engage Wyoming State Parks to manage the recreational uses while the Wyoming Game & Fish Mr. Bill Haley Wyoming State House Department manages key wildlife and sensitive habitat areas and aspects of the park use. of Representatives Albany County The Wyoming Office of State Lands will announce a public review for the proposed Pilot Hill land exchange soon and anticipates voting on the exchange packet in the spring of2020. Along with the exchange, a long-term lease will be secured with Albany County. We look forward to launching the "shovel to dirt" phase of the project as soon as the weather allows this coming year.
Over $975,000 has been donated or pledged to support the Pilot Hill Project - nearly two thirds of the $1 .5M needed to plan and build the initial infrastructure for this open space park. We are honored to leverage each gift in this important project and to the benefit of Albany County and Wyoming residents and visitors for generations to come.
On behalf of the E~ecutive Oversite CommitttJ ~-Pm ~~ 1/'-C_~~s1 Sarah Brown Mathews Pilot Hill Project Finance Committee
Pilot Hill Project PO Box 487 I Laramie, WY 82073 I [email protected] 1 pilothill.org ~ Pilot Hill PROJECT
Just beyond Laramie's city limits, foothills of shortgrass prairie rise to the summit of Pilot Hill at 8,860 feet in elevation.
This inspiring land spans from the east edge of Laramie to the top of Pilot Hill in the Laramie Range. These foothills include sweeping scenic vistas, important wildland habitat, and interesting natural features from deep ravines to limestone cliffs and conifer forests. Most importantly, the property overlies the Casper Aquifer recharge zone; a geologic feature that naturally filters rain and snowmelt to provide a primary drinking water source for our community.
For more than a century the land has been a working landscape for the Warren Livestock Company. The current landowners offered to sell the property to Albany County or the State to conserve the land as open space, and to benefit the public by providing non-motorized recreational connectivity from town to over 60,000 acres of National Forest and State Lands.
Responding to overwhelming positive public interest, the Albany County Commissioners are working to secure the property for public access and raise $1.5M for infrastructure and $3M for future management of the land as a park. The Wyoming _ -Oftice_of._State Lands and Investments (OSLI) is a partner in this effort_and_is._OlQ\ling forward_g n a proposal to acq!J ire the property (appraised at $10.5M) through a State Lands exchange.
Professional land use planners have been engaged to guide the community through the park design process and long-term management plans are being developed with Wyoming State Parks and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Ongoing fund raising efforts will support the initial park infrastructure and provide the County with the financial resou rces needed to cover ongoing management and maintenance expenses, and for leasing the land from the State under a long-term recreational use agreement.
This "out-the-door" access from Laramie to open space recreation and wild lands will improve our quality of life, protect a key portion of the aquifer, and bolster regional economic growth. We invite you to join in supporting the Pilot Hill Project with a tax-deductible donation, by spreading the word and by participating in upcoming public forums. To make a gift or learn more, visit our website at www.pilothill.org. Where is the land? Why support the project?
(":;"\ Protection of a portion of the \J recharge zone to the Casper Aquifer, a primary drinking water source for a majority of Albany County residents
(:;\ Protection of the incredible views \.V from Laramie east toward the Laramie Range
{":;\ 5,500 acres of new public access and \.:!_} non-motorized trails that connect Laramie to over 60,000 acres of National Forest and Wyoming State Lands
~ Expansion of public recreation \J opportunities, which will enhance quality of life for Albany County residents
Increase in tourism and economic 0 development associated with improved access to open space and recreation
f:\ Preservation of an area that \J offers crucial winter wildlife habitat
Surface Management Endless new site-based Agency educational opportunities 0 Bureau of Land Management 0 D Forest Service O state D University of Wyoming t::J State Land Access Point Road and Trail Network
- Local Roads
Jacoby Trail Schoolyard Trails
I I
PRESORT rl\. 71 1'\ICHOL/\S 8.: ST,\TE OF WYOrviiNG STANDARD
1 US POSTAGE T;\NCf:~L\f\•LLC COUNTY OF 1\LBANY 1 ~ THIS INSTRUr·, ENT FILED FOR PAID 1 1 RECOR~8, DlJ .Y f'l~~;r:::::o LARAMIE , WY .···P.O. Box 928 PERMIT#60 Laramie. WY 82073 ZD19 tiDY 2 I Mf II : 09
. C/CR HECORDEu ..:. •CK! E R. GOrJZALES \LB!'. NY COUNTY CLER:<
Albany County Government 525 E Grand Ave RM 202 Laramie, WY 82070-3852
11 1 11 1111 111 1111 ''I·11•11•11 " '·I" 1•11'•11•111 11'11 '111 111 1 11111 \ ~~eft~(!;,
j~tvtLt~, 0 I Kayla J. White
From: Jackie R. Gonzales Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 5:12 PM To: Kayla J. White; Camy Willems Subject: FW: The WCCA's Thursday Download 11/21
Jackie R. Gonzales Albany County Clerk 525 Grand Avenue, Suite 202 Laramie, WY 82070 [email protected] 307-721-5533
This message may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above or may contain information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended addressee, or the person responsible for delivering it to the intended addressee, you are hereby notified that reading, disseminating, distributing or copying this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message by mistake, please immediately notify us by replying to the message and delete the original message and any copies immediately thereafter.
From: Wyoming County Commissioners Association
11/21/2019 View this email in your browser
WCCA Legislative Conference Information
The 2020 WCCA Legislative Conference will be February 12-14, 2020 at Little America in Cheyenne. A room block has been set up at Little America, here are
1 the details:
Group Block Name: WY County Commissioners Association 2020 Dates: February 11 through February 14, 2020 (pre and post-dates available) Last Day to Book at Discounted Rate: January 14, 2020 Discounted Deluxe Rate: $112.00 (upgrades available) Check-in: 3:00pm // Check-out: Noon
Our toll free number for people to call to make a reservation is 800-235- 6396.
Power Wyoming to Provide Information for Future Planning
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon formally announced the launch of Power Wyoming this morning, a planning effort with an initial goal of providing an accurate and comprehensive analysis of Wyoming’s future revenue scenarios to Wyoming citizens and lawmakers. This effort also includes an analysis of policies impacting the state and will generate ideas to create new opportunities to benefit Wyoming.
“Knowledge is power,” Governor Gordon said. “Power Wyoming will arm Wyoming citizens and policy makers with data on a range of economic scenarios so we can all make informed decisions about our future moving forward.”
Governor Gordon’s office and state economists detailed preliminary data compiled by Power Wyoming this morning at a meeting of the Wyoming State Legislature’s Revenue Committee in Cheyenne. The group’s modeling showed scenarios of declining revenues for several years. The scenarios show that it is unlikely that Wyoming can continue to rely on a combination of coal, natural gas and oil revenues to sustain itself in the long-term. It also modeled a decline in population and jobs in the near term.
“The hard truth is, Wyoming faces many external pressures impacting our future and those have often seemed to drive our own economic fate,”
2 continued Governor Gordon. “There are many economic forces out of our control, including other state and federal policies, market demands and world events. However, there are many ways we can control our destiny to position Wyoming for economic stability — but they require planning and action.”
Included in the Power Wyoming presentation was an overview of industry and governmental policies that are impacting energy production. Revenues and jobs from oil, gas and mining are the top drivers of Wyoming’s economy, and the state is the leading energy exporter in the nation by a wide margin.
“Wyoming is blessed to have such incredible energy resources,” Gov. Gordon said. “We need to position ourselves to plan for changes in energy production. We have now started the conversation, and I look forward to talking with all citizens about the future of our economy.”
“I want to compliment the Governor for his willingness to analyze the carbon risk facing the state,” said Senator Cale Case, co-chairman of the Joint Revenue Committee. “When I began serving in the legislature, we believed coal would last 200 years. Now with both coal and natural gas in decline, we are facing a new reality.”
“Now that we have a solid understanding of what needs to happen, the real work begins,” added Representative and co-chairman Dan Zwonitzer. “We are now faced with difficult policy decisions and decisions about how best to solve our state’s structural deficit.”
Governor Gordon noted that Power Wyoming is a first-step in a process of understanding and tackling the state’s sizable revenue shortfalls in the near- and long-term. The immediate budget deficits faced by the State, as noted in the recently updated CREG projections, signal a need for further spending reductions coupled with strategic policy shifts over time. Power Wyoming also includes efforts to support locally-led planning efforts and establish more resources for those communities.
WYDOT receives $14.5 million federal grant for wildlife crossing project
3 The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) will receive a $14.5 million federal grant from the U.S Department of Transportation for a wildlife crossing project north of La Barge in southwest Wyoming.
The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for the Dry Piney wildlife crossing project will be used for underpasses, fencing and related improvements along a 19-mile stretch of US 189 between La Barge and Big Piney.
“Wyoming has demonstrated leadership in protecting wildlife as they migrate,” Governor Mark Gordon said. “Similar efforts the state has engaged in have not only benefited wildlife, but saved motorists as well. Projects like this one draw national attention to our state’s efforts to support wildlife health, and also open the door for federal funding of similar projects.”
The crossings and fencing will provide a safer means of travel for motorists while ensuring wildlife can continue to use historic migration routes.
“This grant will enable us to continue our work on the Dry Piney project, which will help us reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions on our roads,” said WYDOT Director Luke Reiner. “This project is important to Wyoming because it will improve highway safety for all.”
The Dry Piney project will help the Wyoming Range mule deer herd, as well as pronghorn and moose movement.
“Wildlife is valuable to Wyoming, and this project is an investment that helps preserve the historic migration of many big game species,” said Brian Nesvik, Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director. “Underpasses, coupled with fencing, can reduce crashes by 80-90% and ensure animals can safely cross roads to get to seasonal ranges.”
The total cost of all phases of the project is expected to be between $12 and $36.5 million.
“This funding will help us keep Wyoming’s roads safer for everyone,” said WYDOT Chief Engineer Shelby Carlson. “WYDOT, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and other stakeholders have been studying this issue and have identified several areas in the state where improvements need to be made. Dry Piney is one of those areas and this grant will help us make those vital improvements.”
4 WYDOT workers will be another beneficiary of the Dry Piney project. The crossing will increase worker safety because there will be less carcass cleanup due to collisions.
Projects like Dry Piney demonstrate how WYDOT, other state agencies and other stakeholders can collaborate to improve wildlife, motorist and worker safety.
In addition to the $14.5 million BUILD grant, the Wyoming Transportation Commission and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission both contributed $1.25 million for a total of $2.5 million toward the Dry Piney project.
WYDOT will also receive other funding for wildlife conservation projects. A Casper-area family recently donated $25,000 toward wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation, and other donations are in the works.
WOGCC November 2019 Supervisor Report
The Supervisor Report for the November 2019 Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission hearings is now posted on the agency's website.
You may access the report here.
Wyoming 2019 - Just the Facts
A new edition of Wyoming – Just the Facts is now available on the State of Wyoming, Economic Analysis Division’s (EAD) website, http://eadiv.state.wy.us/Wy_facts/facts2019.pdf
This publication includes basic facts about Wyoming including demography, weather & geography, recreation & tourism, crime & law enforcement, education, health & social welfare, housing, the economy, employment & labor, tax environment, mining, energy, & the environment, transportation, agriculture, and government. The fact sheet reports information from various
5 data sources for the most recent period of data with Wyoming's respective rank in the nation, and statistics from the previous period.
Upcoming Legislative Interim Committee Meetings
Management Council - Dec. 2 & 3 - Cheyenne
Joint Appropriations - Dec 9-13 and Dec. 16-20 - Cheyenne
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Our mailing address is: Wyoming County Commissioners Association PO Box 86 Cheyenne, WY 82003-0086 USA
6 Contemplating Wyoming~s Raneh History NATIONALASSOCIATION qf COUNTIES Work 'inside the gates' to hire vets by Charlie Ban before they are discharged and senior writer help the local business com munity. Years after his military career Wolff saw a problem in the was over, Kevin Wolff worked discharge timeline. in corporate recruitment. "I can still remember how "I would do anything to find difficult it was to transition qualified help;' he said. "I usu from active duty to the civilian ally looked for former military sector;' he said of post-Navy personnel, but it was hard to life. "I forgot all of that man make contact with them:' datory 36 hours of instruction Now, as a Bexar County, and woke up one morning and Texas commissioner, Wolff had 30 days until I was out:'