CASPER — Emails and letters expressing opposition about a potential gravel mining operation on state-owned land at the base of Casper Mountain may be the reason the State Board of Land Commissioners has changed venues to host its next meeting here instead of Cheyenne at 9 a.m. April 4.
Wyoming Office of Lands and Investments spokesperson Melissa Defratis said she could not confirm why the meeting was moved, but said the decision came from Gov. Mark Gordon’s office.
“I was just told the governor elected to have it in Casper,” she said.
The meeting will be held in the Round House Room of the Thyra Thomson State Office Building, 444 West Collins, in Casper. The State Loan and Investment Board and Board of Deposits also are part of the session.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray, a member of the land board, met with members of the Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance on Thursday and encouraged the nearly 200 residents there attend the land board meeting.
A show of hands of those who planned to travel to Cheyenne represented nearly half of those present.
More Accessible Venue
Residents at the base of Casper Mountain recently formed the alliance to allow them to, as a group, hire legal representation as well as focus their messaging and efforts to head off any potential mining by Prism Logistics on sections of the state land at the base of the mountain.
The State Board of Land Commissioners signed off on leases to the land in June and October 2023 through consent agenda votes.
Alliance Chairperson Carolyn Griffith said the land board’s meeting in Casper will make it more accessible for local residents interested in the issue surrounding the gravel mining proposal and the process that Prism Logistics obtained its leases.
“I certainly think that public outcry has precipitated more interest in not just the area, but also the process of how lease agreements are granted, and I think that alone is encouraging,” he said. “I’m not going to speculate on whether this is good bad or indifferent, but I am encouraged that they are willing to take a real good look at the situation so that they can make their best decision.”
Griffith said the group is waiting for the agenda for the meeting to see what opportunities will be allowed for the group to provide input to the five commissioners.
“Once that comes out, we’ll know what their intentions are and what they want to hear,” she said.
Meanwhile, the alliance continues to collect petition signatures against gravel mining on the state parcel. The alliance plans to present those to Natrona County Commission at its next meeting. Griffith said all the petitions presented to date are being shared by the county with the land board.
Members of the State Board of Land Commissioners include Gordon, Gray, Wyoming Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
The paved portion of Coates Road, which stretches from Highway 220 back toward Casper Mountain, would be impacted by gravel operations. Casper City Manager Carter Napier said any mining operation using the road constructed with funds from the city, county, and area residents would be a concern. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Antelope near the headwaters of Webb Creek in the area of a proposed gravel mine. (Cowboy State Daily Staff)
Prism Logistics Concerns
Prism Logistics Manager Kyle True in a press release Tuesday said he plans to be at the state land board meeting and hopes the regulatory “prescribed process will be allowed to play out.”
“There are some concerned citizens, and now apparently public officials, who do not understand the regulatory process and how well it is fitted to our state to facilitate responsible development of Wyoming resources and to respect and allow multiple use principles on state-owned land,” he wrote. “We are happy to engage with any concerned entity or group as we believe that the development of the gravel resources on our leases would be positive for all involved.”
Significant portions of the state sections of land leased by Prism Logistics contain little creeks that flow off the mountain. Additionally, any gravel mining areas would likely require the use of Coates Road in the southwest portion of Casper. Water and road concerns are two of several that have voiced by areas residents.
Alliance member and Coates Road resident Jason Knopp, an engineer with expertise in ground water issues, said he continues to study the water rights issues in the area. He has presented information on his own family ranch’s water rights and the fragility of the water system to the Natrona County Commission. He hopes to present information to the land board.
“There’s 244 water rights that relies on water that comes off of that land,” he said.
Water Fears
One strategy the group is pursuing is to hire an attorney to represent the alliance and ensure that water rights, among other property and land issues, are protected.
Knopp said the water rights issue for his family remains crucial to the survival of the ranch that has been in place for more than a century. Some of the ranch’s wells are only a few feet deep.
“If they dig through our aquifer, which they are planning to do, then we would have no water,” he said. “If that water disappears, we have to pack up our ranch. And our ranch has been here for 125 years.”
Knopp said the group also has opened an online petition that will allow state residents to sign because people do come from other areas of the state to use the state land at the base of the mountain.
“It’s just to show that there are a lot of people who use this land that don’t live in Casper,” he said. “There are people who come from Cheyenne and hunt on that state land every year.”
Information released by the city of Casper this week showed the city, Natrona County and Coates Road residents invested $211,820 to pave a portion of the road in 2022. Any gravel mining that sent heavy trucks down that road would tear it up.
The city’s contribution was $48,665 for the portion of roadway within city limits.
Casper City Manager Carter Napier said Tuesday while the city has no jurisdiction over potential gravel mining, it would likely join efforts to protect its investment in the road if gravel mining was pursued.
“Jurisdictionally, we have no dog in this fight,” he said. “We are concerned about the road that we just completed about 18 months ago.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
