Step up to the plate
Casper Star-Tribune | trib.com
You had three related articles in the Aug. 7 paper. They are: “Legislators oppose pollution plan,” “Wyo wind farm placed on list to be fast-tracked,” and an editorial, “Wyo needs public’s help for Game & Fish solutions.”
The Chokecherry/Sierra Madre Wind Farm, at 230,000 acres, is to be the largest wind farm in the U.S. How big is it? Well, to put it in perspective, this project will cover more ground than all of New York City. That means the area of all five boroughs of New York City covered with wind turbines of gigantic proportions. It will totally, and for all intents and purposes forever, dominate and change southern Carbon County.
One of the changes will be the probable harm to wildlife. Many species of game animals and other species are in harm’s way here, but mule deer, already in trouble in much of Wyoming, including Carbon County, will probably take the biggest hit.
Next is our congressional delegation opposing the EPA’s anti-pollution plan. Having lived in Wyoming for more than 50 years, I have seen our air quality go from excellent to, at times, poor. In the 1960s and ’70s, it was quite common to stand on a high point and see mountains more than 100 miles away. Now, even without wildfires, I have trouble at times seeing the Wind River Mountains from Riverton, only 20 miles away.
Which leads us to the editorial urging the public to help find new ways for the Game and Fish Department continue to support itself financially. While I will always support the Game and Fish any way I can, it is obvious that the drop-off in license sales, due to the decline in wildlife numbers, will be an ongoing problem due to increasing and poorly regulated industrialization. Frankly, Game and Fish is trying to manage the unmanageable.
Without protection of our water, air and critical wildlife habitat, all that has made Wyoming a good place to live will continue to deteriorate. The public, if they value these resources, must demand their protection. They cannot sit by hoping that conservation organizations or the state will protect these things. They will have to make the effort to step up to the plate and demand protection of their wild lands and wild places.
HAROLD SCHULTZ, Riverton
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/14/step-up-to-the-plate-2/