The small town of Pinedale, Wyoming is known for a diverse number of things. By and large, the community has always been known for its beautiful surrounding scenery, but also for the ranching community feel and the cowboy characters that live there. Imagine an area with an abundance of culture being affected by an industrial boom. Suddenly, the small town feel is gone, new people have moved in, and the appreciation for the culture that once existed there has been depleted by everyone’s need to economically benefit from the environment’s existing natural resources. Nonetheless, as the abundance of natural resources that once thrived in Pinedale run-out, the town could be left, a place with neither culture nor industry. Since the 1950’s it has
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Since this time, Pinedale has been best known for its surrounding scenery, and breathtaking views of the Wind River Mountains. Even before the founding of the town, people would pay to be guided through those mountains on fishing, packing, and hunting outings. Herford and Black Angus cattle have been roaming on the ranches in the Green River Valley since long before the town was established. “Ranchers and cowboys, along with their families, were among the early settlers of the region,” (Noble, Pinedale, Wyoming) and still play a role in the identity of the town to this day. Furthermore, the identity of Pinedale has always been celebrated through the local event known as Rendezvous which commemorates Pinedale’s role in the “fur-trade” era between the fur traders and Indians, this being yet another unique aspect of the community’s culture. “Pinedale has generally experienced relatively slow growth. It is a community that survived throughout the 20th century because of agriculture and tourism.” The Pinedale of the past began to change rapidly, though, in the 1990’s when gas exploration began in two large fields just south of the town, the Pinedale Anticline, and the Jonah field. Since this time, Pinedale has faced a multitude of changes, fluctuating population, and a shift in culture and identity (Noble, Pinedale, Wyoming). “The Pinedale Anticline …show more content…
The regularly acknowledged issues of oilfield drilling are clearly faced in Pinedale, and these issues have been handled nicely in both the Jonah field and the Pinedale anticline. In a personal interview with Pinedale’s local high school energy explorations teacher, Debra Noble, the effects of the oilfield on both the citizens of the town, as well as its environmental impacts are discussed. The teacher points out that throughout Sublette County, most of the wells are located on public land which is thought to make the “operators take better care of the land. They have to follow all of the BLM's guidelines and make sure that they monitor wildlife, air quality, water quality, and recreational opportunities.” While, in areas of the country where all the wells are on private land, the companies are able to cut corners and not be as environmentally conscious. Over the years, engineers in the Pinedale area specifically have developed cleaner drilling rigs, decreased trucking activities, and built pipeline infrastructures so that they would decrease their carbon emissions. These improvements extending to other oil areas in the world. “In the Jonah Field all of their rigs run on natural gas, instead of diesel to greatly
Since this time, Pinedale has been best known for its surrounding scenery, and breathtaking views of the Wind River Mountains. Even before the founding of the town, people would pay to be guided through those mountains on fishing, packing, and hunting outings. Herford and Black Angus cattle have been roaming on the ranches in the Green River Valley since long before the town was established. “Ranchers and cowboys, along with their families, were among the early settlers of the region,” (Noble, Pinedale, Wyoming) and still play a role in the identity of the town to this day. Furthermore, the identity of Pinedale has always been celebrated through the local event known as Rendezvous which commemorates Pinedale’s role in the “fur-trade” era between the fur traders and Indians, this being yet another unique aspect of the community’s culture. “Pinedale has generally experienced relatively slow growth. It is a community that survived throughout the 20th century because of agriculture and tourism.” The Pinedale of the past began to change rapidly, though, in the 1990’s when gas exploration began in two large fields just south of the town, the Pinedale Anticline, and the Jonah field. Since this time, Pinedale has faced a multitude of changes, fluctuating population, and a shift in culture and identity (Noble, Pinedale, Wyoming). “The Pinedale Anticline …show more content…
The regularly acknowledged issues of oilfield drilling are clearly faced in Pinedale, and these issues have been handled nicely in both the Jonah field and the Pinedale anticline. In a personal interview with Pinedale’s local high school energy explorations teacher, Debra Noble, the effects of the oilfield on both the citizens of the town, as well as its environmental impacts are discussed. The teacher points out that throughout Sublette County, most of the wells are located on public land which is thought to make the “operators take better care of the land. They have to follow all of the BLM's guidelines and make sure that they monitor wildlife, air quality, water quality, and recreational opportunities.” While, in areas of the country where all the wells are on private land, the companies are able to cut corners and not be as environmentally conscious. Over the years, engineers in the Pinedale area specifically have developed cleaner drilling rigs, decreased trucking activities, and built pipeline infrastructures so that they would decrease their carbon emissions. These improvements extending to other oil areas in the world. “In the Jonah Field all of their rigs run on natural gas, instead of diesel to greatly