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In a move that has already sparked debate, the Pinedale Bureau of Land Management released a study Friday that could open the Pinedale Anticline oil and gas field to year-round drilling.

The proposal would increase development, from 1,139 wells now authorized to 4,399 wells, according to Friday's announcement.

Natural gas production under the new project could generate up to $16 billion, half of which would go back to the state, the agency reported.

In a Sunday Casper Star-Tribune article, Whitney Royster unpacks the plan. Click here to read her story. To read the BLM's press release, click here.

Community members and others interested in oil and gas exploration on the Pinedale Anticline can comment on the proposal through Feb. 12, 2007. Click to view it online on the BLM's Web site.

Thirty new inches of snow this week: cause for celebration and increased lift operation

Skiers and riders flock to Teton Village as wind and snow continue to clobber Jackson Hole. The resort announced today around 2 p.m. that they plan to open all the mountain's lifts by Sunday, weather permitting. [more]

Snow splatters Jackson's headlines, roads and mountains

Another weather story:

Hiking up Mount Glory Thursday afternoon in waist deep powder, I whistled snow tunes and made sure my avalanche beacon was working. The wet snow made for heavy wading as my partner and I wandered up the mountain, looking for boot tracks that had been filled in by wind and many many inches of new snow.

Avalanche forecasters, newspapers and ski bums say that warm winter temperatures and wind mixed with an ongoing storm have increase avalanche danger significantly in the Tetons and surrounding areas.
[more]

Valley finally gets much-anticipated white stuff, albeit heavy and wet, but still white

If sound traveled further, you could definitely hear whooping in the valley coming from the hills surrounding Jackson Hole today as skiers enjoyed the 10 inches that fell between Tuesday night and Wednesday. The snow, part of a pacific storm cycle, will enable the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to start opening its upper mountain lifts starting today. Winter is here! [more]

The Future of Food film screening

Panelists urged a Jackson audience to "keep the fire burning" after The Future of Food film screening Thursday night. Nearly 100 people gathered to watch the documentary on how corporations control the food we eat and are infusing it with genetically modified organisms without our knowledge. [more]

Low snowpack normal for this time of year

The mountains look brown, some lifts are still down, but skiers don't frown, snow will come to town. The Casper Star-Tribune's Whitney Royster reported Sunday that the low snowpack - 73 percent of normal as of Friday - is normal for this time of year. Keep praying to Ullr, the snow God, and dancing with your one-piece ski suit on, but don't worry too much. Experts predict a white Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Festivus for 2006. [more]

Men's Journal's No. 1-rated ski town should start praying for snow

Bridger Bowl and Big Sky aren't the only ones hurting for snow. Jackson Hole has been dry for the last week, with little precipitation forecasted. As author Lucia Stewart said in her Wednesday post about Montana's aridity, "I have a serious case of the ski bummers." ...
[more]

Mountain Resort Signs Contract with Film Company for Another Four Years

By signing another contract with the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Thursday, Teton Gravity Research hopes to continue as the brand for ski films across the country. Resort officials announced Thursday that it signed a four-year, six-figure contract with the film company that will last until 2010.

Officials say the contract reflects a commitment to the "big mountain, high testosterone experience JHMR provides and the confidence in this Teton Village, WY based company." ... [more]

Going real at Christmas may help the environment

Faking it may carry you through some situations, but when it comes to Christmas tree selection, err on the real side.

Fake trees may seem more convenient. They don’t shed their needles, you spend less time fighting over which tree to pick, they last for years and most conveniently, they fold up in a matter of minutes.

But, the conditions under which they’re made and the materials themselves should give you pause, says the National Christmas Tree Association. About 85 percent of fake trees are imported from abroad, they say, from factories where workers sit for hours melting chips into moldable plastics.

Last week, my roommate Meg and I decided to get our own real Christmas tree, to inspire holiday cheer in those locals who think only of skiing and not of eggnog, cranberries and sugarplum fairies... [more]

Greetings from the Jackson Hole editor

Howdy folks, this here is Newwest.net’s Jackson Hole page. Even if you don’t live in Teton County, you have probably been here en route to Yellowstone as a child, on a ski vacation with friends or just in your mind after seeing photographs on glossy magazine pages.

This page will contain stories, links, blogs and thoughts about Jackson Hole and surrounding areas, such as Teton County, Idaho. The theme is place. Anything goes so long as it’s about the area.
[more]

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