Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Pony Express Program
On March 6, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Historic Trails
Interpretive Center (NHTIC) will present “The Pony Express: Truth vs.
Myth." The program will be held at the NHTIC beginning at 1 p.m. and is
free and open to the public.
Few events in U.S. western history have generated more myths and half
truths than the Pony Express. National Pony Express Association President
(NPEA) and rider Les Bennington will share and unravel some of these truths
from the myths. Bennington currently resides near Glenrock, Wyo.
The NPEA is also celebrating their sesquicentennial this year. Bennington
will share and elaborate on upcoming events associated with the 150th
anniversary of the Pony Express.
The Pony Express, a fast-moving mail service, operated from April 1860 to
November 1861. The Pony Express Trail crossed the North American continent
from Saint Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif.
Approximately 190 stations were placed between 10 and 12 miles apart along
the Pony Express Trail. The Pony Express operated a relay station at the
site of the Guinard Bridge and Trading Post, which later was established as
Platte Bridge Station, and then Fort Caspar.
For more information about the program, contact Jason Vlcan at the NHTIC,
(307) 261-7780.
Interpretive Center (NHTIC) will present “The Pony Express: Truth vs.
Myth." The program will be held at the NHTIC beginning at 1 p.m. and is
free and open to the public.
Few events in U.S. western history have generated more myths and half
truths than the Pony Express. National Pony Express Association President
(NPEA) and rider Les Bennington will share and unravel some of these truths
from the myths. Bennington currently resides near Glenrock, Wyo.
The NPEA is also celebrating their sesquicentennial this year. Bennington
will share and elaborate on upcoming events associated with the 150th
anniversary of the Pony Express.
The Pony Express, a fast-moving mail service, operated from April 1860 to
November 1861. The Pony Express Trail crossed the North American continent
from Saint Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif.
Approximately 190 stations were placed between 10 and 12 miles apart along
the Pony Express Trail. The Pony Express operated a relay station at the
site of the Guinard Bridge and Trading Post, which later was established as
Platte Bridge Station, and then Fort Caspar.
For more information about the program, contact Jason Vlcan at the NHTIC,
(307) 261-7780.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Rock Springs BLM to hold open house
The Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, will be holding two public meetings on Wednesday, February 24, to discuss the proposed White Mountain Wind Energy Project. The project, spearheaded by Tasco Engineering, proposes to construct up to 240 wind turbines on top of White Mountain as part of a 360-megawatt electrical generating facility. Project costs could reach $200 million. If costs exceed $170 million, review by the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council would be triggered.
White Mountain is a popular recreation area located near Rock Springs and Green River, just north of Interstate 80. The project area would impact a number of significant cultural resource sites, including the Overland Trail, the North Cherokee Trail, Pilot Butte which has guided thousands of travelers through centuries of migration, significant Native American cultural sites, and historic wagon roads from early settlement days. The BLM is currently examining whether the area qualifies for the National Register as either a Rural Historic Landscape or a Traditional Cultural Property. The mountain is also home to elk, deer, wild horses, sage grouse and other species. The area also includes the recently developed Wild Horse Loop which runs along the rim and slope of White Mountain. In all, the proposed project area includes approximately 13,165 acres includes about 8,527 acres of lands privately owned by Anadarko and the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
The public meetings will be held at the Young at Heart Senior Center, 2400 Reagan Ave. in Rock Springs, Wyo. Two sessions are scheduled, the first beginning at 4 p.m.; the second session at 6 p.m. Each session will include a short presentation on the proposal with the rest of the time being available for questions and public comments. Project team members will be available after 3:30 p.m. to answer questions.
The recently released Environmental Assessment (EA) can be reviewed online here. Public comments will be accepted on the proposal until March 10. People attending the public sessions can turn in their comments there. Otherwise, they can be sent via email or by surface mail to Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Attn: White Mountain Wind Energy Project, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901.
White Mountain is a popular recreation area located near Rock Springs and Green River, just north of Interstate 80. The project area would impact a number of significant cultural resource sites, including the Overland Trail, the North Cherokee Trail, Pilot Butte which has guided thousands of travelers through centuries of migration, significant Native American cultural sites, and historic wagon roads from early settlement days. The BLM is currently examining whether the area qualifies for the National Register as either a Rural Historic Landscape or a Traditional Cultural Property. The mountain is also home to elk, deer, wild horses, sage grouse and other species. The area also includes the recently developed Wild Horse Loop which runs along the rim and slope of White Mountain. In all, the proposed project area includes approximately 13,165 acres includes about 8,527 acres of lands privately owned by Anadarko and the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
The public meetings will be held at the Young at Heart Senior Center, 2400 Reagan Ave. in Rock Springs, Wyo. Two sessions are scheduled, the first beginning at 4 p.m.; the second session at 6 p.m. Each session will include a short presentation on the proposal with the rest of the time being available for questions and public comments. Project team members will be available after 3:30 p.m. to answer questions.
The recently released Environmental Assessment (EA) can be reviewed online here. Public comments will be accepted on the proposal until March 10. People attending the public sessions can turn in their comments there. Otherwise, they can be sent via email or by surface mail to Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Attn: White Mountain Wind Energy Project, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
If we want jobs, try historic preservation
In his “State of the State” address last week, Governor Freudenthal called on the legislature to provide more funds for new school construction, stating that it was “about the only thing that is going to generate jobs in this state for construction.” Unfortunately, the governor and other state officials do not seem to be aware of the fact that new construction generates far fewer jobs than rehabilitation of existing buildings. In our haste to build new schools, we have not only destroyed some treasured community landmarks – we have also lost an opportunity to create many more new jobs than with new construction, and have needlessly wasted resources and overloaded our landfills.
Look at a few of these statistics:
• One million dollars spent on rehabilitation, compared to the same amount spent on new construction yields between 5 and 9 more local construction jobs, creates 4.7 more new jobs elsewhere in the community and provides $107,000 more in community income. It also generates $34,000 more in retail sales. (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)
• At the state level, one million spent on building rehabilitation created:
5 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing electronic equipment in California.
12 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing cars in Michigan.
29 more jobs than pumping $1 million worth of oil in Oklahoma.
22 more jobs than $1 million cutting timber in Oregon.
12 more jobs than $1 million processing steel in Pennsylvania.
8 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing textiles in South Carolina.
17 more jobs than $1 million in agriculture in South Dakota.
20 more jobs than $1 million mining coal in West Virginia.
(Donovan Rypkema, the Economics of Historic Preservation)
If we focused on rehabilitating our existing schools (and other public buildings), we would not only create more construction jobs, we would give our communities the stability that comes from shared experiences through generations.
Look at a few of these statistics:
• One million dollars spent on rehabilitation, compared to the same amount spent on new construction yields between 5 and 9 more local construction jobs, creates 4.7 more new jobs elsewhere in the community and provides $107,000 more in community income. It also generates $34,000 more in retail sales. (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)
• At the state level, one million spent on building rehabilitation created:
5 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing electronic equipment in California.
12 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing cars in Michigan.
29 more jobs than pumping $1 million worth of oil in Oklahoma.
22 more jobs than $1 million cutting timber in Oregon.
12 more jobs than $1 million processing steel in Pennsylvania.
8 more jobs than $1 million manufacturing textiles in South Carolina.
17 more jobs than $1 million in agriculture in South Dakota.
20 more jobs than $1 million mining coal in West Virginia.
(Donovan Rypkema, the Economics of Historic Preservation)
If we focused on rehabilitating our existing schools (and other public buildings), we would not only create more construction jobs, we would give our communities the stability that comes from shared experiences through generations.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Another Letter Supporting South Pass
Good day everyone.
With the Lander BLM Field Office soon to release their proposed Resource Management Plan, I would like to voice the following as far as protecting the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape Area:
As we are all aware, during the mid-nineteenth century Wyoming’s South Pass was the only feasible passageway for hundreds of thousands of pioneers to all points west. Their diaries and journals are replete of perseverance, hope and hardship. It was a major conduit to the American Dream.
To this day there are still timeless, unspoiled wagon ruts with pristine viewsheds and it is all here in our own backyard to preserve for future generations. I believe we have reached a critical and defining moment for safeguarding the South Pass Historic Trails corridor.
Over the years my own personal experiences along the Sweetwater River Valley have been filled with wonderment. To walk in wagon ruts a hundred plus years old with unrivaled landform panoramas and without wind turbines, massive transmission lines, etc. gives one the sense of solitude and connection to the past.
To view emigrant inscriptions at Independence Rock, behold the anomaly of Devil’s Gate, stop at Split Rock or Ice Slough and feel the presence of early-day fur trappers and later the thousands of white covered wagons with the pioneers and their livestock slowly making their way west, to the sixth through ninth crossings of the Sweetwater River, and finally to stand at Ezra Meeker’s Oregon Trail Stone Marker at South Pass, one quickly gains a regard for this remote and extremely historic area.
Just as this one hundred mile corridor to South Pass joined east to west in the 1800’s, so too it must connect our past generations to future generations without unsightly intrusions. This is a time piece we should not slip away.
In summary, I deem it would be an embarrassment to our children and their children to exploit this most historic of all trails corridor.
“We walk in yesterday’s footprints just as future generations will walk in ours.”
Let’s make all generations proud.
Please consider supporting the Resource Protection Alternative.
Thank you.
William J. Higgins, III
With the Lander BLM Field Office soon to release their proposed Resource Management Plan, I would like to voice the following as far as protecting the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape Area:
As we are all aware, during the mid-nineteenth century Wyoming’s South Pass was the only feasible passageway for hundreds of thousands of pioneers to all points west. Their diaries and journals are replete of perseverance, hope and hardship. It was a major conduit to the American Dream.
To this day there are still timeless, unspoiled wagon ruts with pristine viewsheds and it is all here in our own backyard to preserve for future generations. I believe we have reached a critical and defining moment for safeguarding the South Pass Historic Trails corridor.
Over the years my own personal experiences along the Sweetwater River Valley have been filled with wonderment. To walk in wagon ruts a hundred plus years old with unrivaled landform panoramas and without wind turbines, massive transmission lines, etc. gives one the sense of solitude and connection to the past.
To view emigrant inscriptions at Independence Rock, behold the anomaly of Devil’s Gate, stop at Split Rock or Ice Slough and feel the presence of early-day fur trappers and later the thousands of white covered wagons with the pioneers and their livestock slowly making their way west, to the sixth through ninth crossings of the Sweetwater River, and finally to stand at Ezra Meeker’s Oregon Trail Stone Marker at South Pass, one quickly gains a regard for this remote and extremely historic area.
Just as this one hundred mile corridor to South Pass joined east to west in the 1800’s, so too it must connect our past generations to future generations without unsightly intrusions. This is a time piece we should not slip away.
In summary, I deem it would be an embarrassment to our children and their children to exploit this most historic of all trails corridor.
“We walk in yesterday’s footprints just as future generations will walk in ours.”
Let’s make all generations proud.
Please consider supporting the Resource Protection Alternative.
Thank you.
William J. Higgins, III
Sample Letter Supporting South Pass
Mr. Cagney,
Wyoming is blessed with the best remaining traces of the old Oregon Trail anywhere in our country. In particular, Wyoming is home to Greater South Pass, without which our country's iconic westward migration would have been impossible. Wyoming as a thoroughfare to the Pacific is a significant influence on the state's history. South Pass is of obvious significance to the establishment of the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. More than 300,000 people followed the Oregon Trail through South Pass, between 1840 and 1860 on their way to Utah, Oregon, and California.
The region of South Pass was also hunting grounds and home to Native Americans for approximately 10,000 years before white explorers and fur trappers came to the area. Known only to Native Peoples until 1812, this area is historically signifiant as well to Shoshone, Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Pawnee, Crow, Blackfeet, and Ute tribes.
Fortunately, as a result of Wyoming's previous conservation efforts, the historic landscape of South Pass remains virtually unchanged from how it appeared in the mid-1800s. And it should remain so.
At present, the Lander BLM is working on a Resource Management Plan which could change all that. I am writing to urge you to use your influence to ensure that South Pass remain a pristine historic jewel of this state. I am not asking for anything new, simply that this unique landscape continue to be managed as it has been in the past.
This would include forbidding any energy development that compromises the historic trails and their related viewsheds. Wind energy development, the only energy resource in the area, should not be permitted to degrade historic trails, or view corridors. I would request a five-mile "no surface occupancy" buffer to protect from these types of developments. Beyond that, distance from the trails can be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on topography. Such a system will protect the historic trails and core sage grouse areas.
There will never be another South Pass. Once it is compromised, it can never be reclaimed or mitigated. People come from all over the world to experience this amazing resource. In so doing, they also feed Wyoming's economy. As a former employee of Community Services Collaborative, who prepared the South Pass City Historic Buildings Evaluation for the Wyoming Recreation Commission in 1990, I urge you use your influence to protect South Pass for future generations.
Sincerely,
Cheyanne Valenzuela
Apache-Comanche-Mestiza
Historic Preservation Specialist for Research and Grantsmanship
Dakota Resource Group
Wyoming is blessed with the best remaining traces of the old Oregon Trail anywhere in our country. In particular, Wyoming is home to Greater South Pass, without which our country's iconic westward migration would have been impossible. Wyoming as a thoroughfare to the Pacific is a significant influence on the state's history. South Pass is of obvious significance to the establishment of the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. More than 300,000 people followed the Oregon Trail through South Pass, between 1840 and 1860 on their way to Utah, Oregon, and California.
The region of South Pass was also hunting grounds and home to Native Americans for approximately 10,000 years before white explorers and fur trappers came to the area. Known only to Native Peoples until 1812, this area is historically signifiant as well to Shoshone, Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Pawnee, Crow, Blackfeet, and Ute tribes.
Fortunately, as a result of Wyoming's previous conservation efforts, the historic landscape of South Pass remains virtually unchanged from how it appeared in the mid-1800s. And it should remain so.
At present, the Lander BLM is working on a Resource Management Plan which could change all that. I am writing to urge you to use your influence to ensure that South Pass remain a pristine historic jewel of this state. I am not asking for anything new, simply that this unique landscape continue to be managed as it has been in the past.
This would include forbidding any energy development that compromises the historic trails and their related viewsheds. Wind energy development, the only energy resource in the area, should not be permitted to degrade historic trails, or view corridors. I would request a five-mile "no surface occupancy" buffer to protect from these types of developments. Beyond that, distance from the trails can be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on topography. Such a system will protect the historic trails and core sage grouse areas.
There will never be another South Pass. Once it is compromised, it can never be reclaimed or mitigated. People come from all over the world to experience this amazing resource. In so doing, they also feed Wyoming's economy. As a former employee of Community Services Collaborative, who prepared the South Pass City Historic Buildings Evaluation for the Wyoming Recreation Commission in 1990, I urge you use your influence to protect South Pass for future generations.
Sincerely,
Cheyanne Valenzuela
Apache-Comanche-Mestiza
Historic Preservation Specialist for Research and Grantsmanship
Dakota Resource Group
Greater South Pass Needs Your Letters
We have received information that the Lander BLM is close to releasing their proposed Resource Management Plan. The proposal is likely to include three different alternatives, each of which would have different impacts for the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape:
Current Status; no change
Resource Protection
Resource Use
AHW will be supporting the resource protection or conservation alternative. Unsuprisingly, however, many of the influential policy-makers are pushing for the resource use alternative.
We are asking the BLM to consider managing the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape much as they have done in the past. We most certainly have no dispute with historic ranch uses in the area. As for mineral development, there is no gas or oil in the area. The biggest energy threat comes from potential wind energy projects. But even those have limited potential due to topography. We also believe that hard rock mining is incompatible with this area.
What we are asking is that the BLM adopt a five-mile "no surface occupancy" boundary around the trails. Beyond that, we believe that any project can and should be sited on a case-by-case basis depending on the landscape in the area. Adoption of these standards would also protect core sage grouse areas, an increasingly important issue in Wyoming.
We are asking that our supporters contact key decision-makers as soon as possible to make sure they understand the significance that the historic preservation community places on the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape. You can click here to go to our website where you will find a link under "Current Alerts" that will allow you to send a "one-click letter" to these decision-makers or use the contact information provided below to send surface mail.
TALKING POINTS
Send your letters to:
Governor Dave Freudenthal
State Capitol, 200 West 24th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0010
307-777-7434 (phone) 307-632-3909 (fax)
Don Simpson, BLM State Director
5353 Yellowstone Road
PO Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003-1828
307-775-6256 (phone) 307-775-6129 (fax)
Jim Cagney, Lander BLM Field Manager
1335 Main Street, PO Box 589
Lander, WY 82520-0589
307-332-8400 (phone) 307-332-8444 (fax)
Mary Hopkins, Interim SHPO
State Historic Preservation Office
Department 3431
1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, Wyoming 82071
307-766-5323 (phone) 307-766-4262 (fax)
Current Status; no change
Resource Protection
Resource Use
AHW will be supporting the resource protection or conservation alternative. Unsuprisingly, however, many of the influential policy-makers are pushing for the resource use alternative.
We are asking the BLM to consider managing the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape much as they have done in the past. We most certainly have no dispute with historic ranch uses in the area. As for mineral development, there is no gas or oil in the area. The biggest energy threat comes from potential wind energy projects. But even those have limited potential due to topography. We also believe that hard rock mining is incompatible with this area.
What we are asking is that the BLM adopt a five-mile "no surface occupancy" boundary around the trails. Beyond that, we believe that any project can and should be sited on a case-by-case basis depending on the landscape in the area. Adoption of these standards would also protect core sage grouse areas, an increasingly important issue in Wyoming.
We are asking that our supporters contact key decision-makers as soon as possible to make sure they understand the significance that the historic preservation community places on the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape. You can click here to go to our website where you will find a link under "Current Alerts" that will allow you to send a "one-click letter" to these decision-makers or use the contact information provided below to send surface mail.
TALKING POINTS
- Wyoming is blessed with the most pristine historic emigrant trails anywhere in the country
- The crown jewel of this system of trails is South Pass
- Without South Pass, the iconic westward emigration would have been impossible
- Thousands of people visit South Pass every year, pumping untold dollars into the local economy
- Protecting South Pass for future generations is not a change in management; it's what our ancestors did for us; it's what we owe to our children
- The RMP will guide management of the area for the next 15-20 years. It must reflect the interests of the future as much, if not more, than any short-term gain
- The potential for mineral development is miniscule and trumped by the preservation imperative
- Wind energy can be developed in other parts of the state, parts of the state that do not include a one-of-its-kind, internationally renowned cultural resource
Send your letters to:
Governor Dave Freudenthal
State Capitol, 200 West 24th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0010
307-777-7434 (phone) 307-632-3909 (fax)
Don Simpson, BLM State Director
5353 Yellowstone Road
PO Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003-1828
307-775-6256 (phone) 307-775-6129 (fax)
Jim Cagney, Lander BLM Field Manager
1335 Main Street, PO Box 589
Lander, WY 82520-0589
307-332-8400 (phone) 307-332-8444 (fax)
Mary Hopkins, Interim SHPO
State Historic Preservation Office
Department 3431
1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, Wyoming 82071
307-766-5323 (phone) 307-766-4262 (fax)
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