Wind divides Converse County

Converse County residents remain staunchly divided on the issue of whether to allow wind development in the northern Laramie Range. More than 100 people crammed into the Converse County Courthouse on Tuesday night to testify for and against a proposal that would place a 90-day moratorium on all industrial development south and west of Interstate 25 on lands 5,500 feet in elevation and higher. "This group is not against wind. We're against wind where it isn't appropriate," said Diemer True, a northern Laramie Range landowner and organizer of the Northern Laramie Range Alliance. Other private property owners in the area are outraged that their neighbors are trying to prevent them from developing wind energy on their lands. Many ranching families see wind energy as a means to earn extra income in order to supplement their operations and maintain the culture of agriculture and recreation in the mountains. In his testimony to the county Planning and Zoning Commission, rancher Mark Grant alluded to the fact that many people in opposition to wind development are rich folks who bought property for private retreats and block access to public lands. "We haven't appreciated seeing all the new roads going in, all the padlocks going up on the gates, all the cabins being built on hills that used to be bare. So we're feeling somewhat persecuted when we try to do something to help us stay there," Grant said...read more