Save The WYOMING RANGE!

We are writing to you today because we need help!

As a sportsman you understand the great tradition and heritage that Wyoming provides. Our state is home to some of the greatest recreational land in the world. It is why we hunt here, fish here and live here. There is great pride in being a sportsman and an even greater pride in being a Wyoming Sportsman.

It is with that thought in mind that I have agreed to serve as statewide spokepersons for Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range. The Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range is a group of like- minded sporting groups and individuals that have joined together to protect our heritage. In the next several weeks you can look for news stories, billboards and other advertising talking about this crucial effort.

It is time as sportsmen that we use our vision today to shape the future of our sport for our grandchildren. Nowhere is this long -term vision more important than in the Wyoming Range. If you are like us and you dream of taking a 30-inch mule deer buck or completing a cutt-slam goal, then you know about this place. The range has one of the best populations of trophy mule deer bucks and cutthroat trout in the state. They don’t get that way by accident: it takes habitat.

The Wyoming Range has produced a great many trophies while accommodating a true multiple use mandate, allowing for both motorized and primitive access and it’s a premier spot for snowmobiling as well. Not often do these values coincide as seamlessly as they do in the Wyoming Range.

Unfortunately, the Wyoming Range is in trouble. We as sportsmen need to stand up and protect true mixed use for this paradise. The Bridger-Teton National Forest has offered 44,000 acres of prime wildlife and fisheries habitat to oil and gas companies. Already, some 150,000 acres in the range are under lease and await continued development. Providing for our nation’s needs is an important part of Wyoming’s economy.

In fact we strongly support energy development in Wyoming and believe its continued benefits cannot be ignored. But, we also believe that there should be some places where world class habitat should be left to sportsmen. Places where we and our children and their children can hunt, camp and fish forever. The Wyoming Range is such a place.

That is why we are proposing:

1. No new oil and gas leases on PUBLIC lands in the Wyoming Range
2. A process that would allow for trade-outs or buy-outs of existing oil and gas leases at fair market value (agreed to by leaseholders) and a retirement of leases that are traded or bought

This is a smart, common sense solution that protects our oil and gas industry, landowners and sportsmen.

If we are going to be successful, we need the help of sportsmen all around the country. We need the help of sportsmen like you. Sportsmen have always stood up to be counted when it comes time to protect wildlife and fisheries habitat. That time is upon us.

Join us by sending in the post card included in this mailing and by logging on to www.WyomingRangeSportsmen.org . Let us know you support this one-of-a-kind effort. Please stand up and be counted for your outdoor heritage.

We already have the support of many state and local sporting organizations. Now it is up to you!

Write and tell us about your personal stories and send photos of those great experiences. Together we can make a difference and protect our sportsmen heritage for generations.

Sincerely.

Mike Eastman
Publisher
The Eastman’s Journal
Powell, Wyoming

P.S. Don’t forget to log on to www.WyomingRangeSportsmen.org and send in your post card. We need your support!