As the United States’ population continues to grow, the demand for cheap and efficient energy continues to rise accordingly. A very controversial issue that has come up is the mining of fossil fuels in the the rich wildlife areas in Wyoming. According to the article published by The New York Times, “Wyoming Adopts Wildlife Migration Conservation Guidelines,” Wyoming passed guidelines to stop fossil fuel mining in migration areas for elk, antelope, and mule deer. Biologists have been able to get the exact routes traveled by attaching tracking devices to the animals. This is a non-violent way to figure out where the guidelines should restrict energy companies from exploiting. The article states that the main goal was not to totally shut down fossil fuel mining in Wyoming, but more to allow for wildlife and energy consumption to go hand and hand. Some of the ideas that were presented were to use specially designed fences that would allow wildlife to crawl under instead of barb-wired fences that are commonly used.

Wyoming is the least populated state in the U.S. and I did more research to determine why this is an issue for the state. According to the University of Wyoming, Wyoming is a center for U.S. energy production and remains towards the top of states to produce the most fossil fuels. Being that the state is scarcely populated, Wyoming is also a leader in wildlife habitats so this is what caused the problem to come about. The guidelines that are proposed by the state have allowed for the wildlife commission and energy companies to remain happy with the position and provide a positive future for energy development. States like Alaska have also had issues with this topic and Wyoming has done a good job of working out this controversial issue. It will be interesting to see how different states deal with the ongoing problems of energy development and wildlife management.

References:

“Wyoming Adopts Wildlife Migration Conservation Guidelines.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.

“Fossil Fuels Concentration | School of Energy Resources | University of Wyoming.” Fossil Fuels Concentration | School of Energy Resources | University of Wyoming. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.