Wyoming's NIMBYs? GOP Senators Try To Block Drilling

Like every loyal Republican, Wyoming's two Republican senators, John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, have backed the GOP push for drilling everywhere from the Arctic Circle all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

With one exception: their own backyard.

Enzi and Barrasso have sponsored a bill that prohibit any oil and natural gas drilling in 1.2 million acres in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, taking the land away from the federal Bureau of Land Management, which was in the process of selling leases to energy companies. The oil and gas leases have been caught up in protests from local sportsmen and landowners, and this bill would kill any chance of energy exploration in the region, known as the Wyoming Range.

The bill passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 13-9 vote this spring, but it's not yet on the Senate floor schedule. Eight Republicans and one Democrat voted against the bill in committee.

"I strongly support oil and gas development in our state, but I also believe some places are simply too special to develop," Barrasso said in a statement supporting his bill.

On Friday morning Barrasso and Enzi voted against a Democratic bill cracking down on oil speculation.

The argument against drilling in Wyoming sounds pretty much like the argument Democrats have used in opposition to petroleum exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

 
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