Day 5: The Future is Now
Among stacks of papers, boxes and coffee cups, Laramie County Planning Director Gary Kranse looks like a man with a lot on his mind. Behind him is a map of the county, splattered with dots of orange, each marking where a permit to drill an oil well has been approved. For years, it only required fingers, and maybe a few toes, to count the number of permits issued in Laramie County. But soon after the Jake well struck oil in northern Colorado, those permits skyrocketed. While not all permits will actually turn into producing wells, clearly there is a trend. (Read more »)
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- Holli and Patrick Guillory joke with each other as they ride horses near their home south of Hillsdale earlier this month. The Guillorys expressed concern about water if the Niobrara oil play drilling takes off. Michael Smith/staff
Holli and Patrick Guillory joke with each other as they ride horses near their home south of Hillsdale earlier this month. The Guillorys expressed concern about water if the Niobrara oil play drilling takes off. Michael Smith/staff
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- A handmade sign warning motorists to slow down sits on a county road near Burns in February. County officials say truck traffic has increased dramatically in the past year. Michael Smith/staff
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- Sweetwater County Planner Mark Kot looks at a zoning map in his Green River office in February. Kot believes zoning and construction standards can mitigate some the appearance of industrial sites. Michael Smith/staff
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- Stakes designate the future site of a road to be used for energy development in central Laramie County in February. Michael Smith/staff
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- Rows of fracking tanks sit on a piece of Wyoming State Trust Land in southern Laramie County in February. Hydraulic fracturing is used to stimulate formations that exist more than a mile and a half underground. This process allows oil and gas to be recovered more economically. Michael Smith/staff
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- Sweetwater County Commissioner Wally Johnson speaks in his office about zoning and energy development in early February. Michael Smith/staff
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- Gillette Mayor Tom Murphy speaks in his office in February about the boom-and-bust cycle of his community. Murphy says he regrets not having zoning or construction standards in Campbell County until just recently, because it's much more expensive to go back and reinvest in infrastructure. Michael Smith/staff
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- A mulit-million dollar home sits near a multiple-use area in Rock Springs earlier this year. Michael Smith/staff
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- Rachel Guillory, left, Patrick Guillory and Holli ride horses near their home south of Hillsdale earlier this month. The Guillorys expressed concern about water if the Niobrara oil play drilling takes off. Michael Smith/staff
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- Weld County Commissioner Dave Long speaks at a energy development in Greeley in early February. Weld County, Colo., has hosted energy developers for decades and will play a significant role in the Niobrara oil play. Michael Smith/staff
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- The sun pops through the clouds as a rig drills in central Laramie County earlier this year. Michael Smith/staff
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- Storage tanks sit in field in eastern Laramie County last February. Michael Smith/staff
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- A pump jack operates near the Jake well last February. According to a Denver Business Journal article in April, the Jake wildcat oil well produced 50,000 barrels of crude oil in its first 90 days, according to the wellÕs owner, Houston-based EOG Resources Inc. Michael Smith/staff
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- Sweetwater County Planner Mark Kot eyes a zoning map in his Green River office in February. Kot believes zoning and construction standards can mitigate some the appearance of industrial sites. Michael Smith/staff
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- A windmill spins in the wind as a drill rig and fracking tanks are set up in the background in northwest Laramie County last February. Hydraulic fracturing is used to stimulate formations that exist more than a mile and a half underground. This process allows oil and gas to be recovered more economically. Michael Smith/staff
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- The Sand Draw Industrial Site in the Jonah Field near Pinedale. Michael Smith/staff
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- Snow collects in furrows in a field as a drill operates in the distance near U.S. Highway 85 in early February. Many fields will be taken out of production if ranchers sell water rights to the energy industry. Michael Smith/staff
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- A U.S. flag flaps in the wind outside a ranch near Douglas in February. Laramie County has already seen significant changes, underlying the important role zoning and infrastructure will play to help competing uses of land from clashing. Michael Smith/staff
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