State Briefs

Wells every 10 - 20 acres proposed

EnCana Oil and Gas Inc., BP America and other natural gas development companies have submitted to the Bureau of Land Management a proposal to expand natural gas exploration and development operations in the Jonah II natural gas field. The proposal involves increasing the well density in a 30,000-acre project area, to one well per 10 to 20 acres.

The BLM officially announced last week that it will conduct an environmental impact statement for the Jonah Infill Drilling Project.

The operators' original proposal to drill 450 wells in addition to 47 existing wells at the same number of locations was approved by the BLM in March 2000. The operators now propose to drill 1,250 additional wells from 850 well locations within the same area, based on a 10 to 20 acre down-hole spacing pattern.

The operators propose to explore known productive formations as well as deeper formations that have not been tested. The planned development would include the following associated structures and facilities in addition to the 850 proposed new well locations: needed separators and hydrators, storage tanks, field access and resource roads, a system of gathering and sales pipelines, compressor stations, and five additional water wells.

A public scooping notice will soon be available from the BLM and will be posted on the agency's website at http://www.wy.blm.gov/-nepa/nepadocs.htm. For more information, contact Eldon Allison, BLM Project Manager at 307-367-5300.

Hunting meeting

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will hold its formal season-setting meeting next Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Sublette County Library in Pinedale. Proposed seasons for elk are similar to last year's for most hunt areas, but some changes to season length and hunt area boundaries are proposed.

The Jackson moose herd continues its downward trend, as do the number of permits offered, from 495 in 1991, to just 145 proposed for this year. The Jackson bighorn herd is in a similar position, with permits being cut in half, to a proposed four permits.

The number of nonresident permits for Wyoming Range deer is proposed to decline from 1,800 to 1,600. Seasons will end earlier in October and the latter part of most seasons will be restricted to the take of antlered deer only.

The only big game herd with an increased number of permits being proposed is the Sublette antelope herd, with a total increase of 75 permits.

Grizzly meeting

The public is invited to attend the Yellowstone Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Subcommittee's semi-annual meeting on April 1-2 at the Wort Hotel in Jackson.

The subcommittee, comprised of representatives from state and federal agencies involved in Yellowstone-area grizzly bear management, will receive an update on finalization of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population conservation strategy.

Among other agenda items are discussions about agency bear/human conflict resolution efforts in the Yellowstone Ecosystem and the subcommittee's information and education program.

The meeting begins at 1 p.m. on April 1 and runs from 8 a.m. to noon on April 2. Public comments will be accepted during the last half hour of each session. For further information about the meeting, contact Reg Rothwell of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307)-777-4588.

Snake River meeting

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Snake River Resource Management Plan is now available for public review and comment.

An open house will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, in the Teton County Commissioners' Meeting Room, 200 South Willow St., in Jackson. The purpose of the open house is to answer questions people have about the DEIS. The open house will immediately be followed by a three-hour formal public hearing on the DEIS, in the same location, on the same date, starting at 5 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to receive formal public comments, verbal and written, on the DEIS.