Community News · Sublette County
New Fork River Pronghorn Crossing Protected After 2023 Oil Lease Fight
A conservation easement on Wild Horse Ranch and Wyoming's June designation of the Sublette Pronghorn migration corridor have permanently protected a critical New Fork River crossing in Sublette County. The protections safeguard 1.3 miles of river, 104 acres of wetlands, and 60 acres of sage grouse core area, covering 92% of the private-land portion of the bottleneck. PureWest Energy agreed to waive surface development rights on the Looney family ranch in exchange for directional drilling access below the surface. Kirkwood Oil and Gas still holds a lease on adjacent state Parcel 194 until 2028, but Wyoming's migration policy states that new development within pre-existing oil and gas units inside bottlenecks should not be allowed.