Daily Darwin

Could be the best wedding ceremony we've ever seen.....

Mix Collage 26 Nov 2024 03 45 PM 2957

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Wednesday, November 27, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, November 27, 2024

 Could be the best wedding ceremony we've ever seen.....

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, July 14th.  I’m Mac Watson

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

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The man who made international headlines after being attacked by a bison in Yellowstone on Friday is in a hospital recovering with several broken bones. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Carl Ison-McDaniel of Washington state is thanking well-wishers and says he’s “OK.”

“As of Monday, Carl McDaniel is hospitalized in serious condition. And before you panic, he was admitted to the hospital in critical condition after being tossed by the bison at the Bridge Bay campground in Yellowstone. He has several broken bones that are going to take a lot of time to mend. Carl never lost consciousness during this whole ordeal. He was even joking about it before Yellowstone EMS came to take control of the situation.”

Ison-McDaniel, of Kendall, Washington, broke his femur in four places after being tossed airborne by a bull bison Friday. The 65-year old is expected to make a full recovery after being tossed 8-feet in the air by a bison.

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Northern Arapaho Tribal leaders have told a Christian church to leave their reservation after the pastor preached “a pipe cannot hear your prayers.” Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the pastor said she's staying, and won't apologize.

“This could end up in court, but it's not very straightforward because the church is within the exterior boundaries of the reservation, but it's on private land, so it's a little tricky, or arguably impossible to kick someone off of private land. On the other hand, the tribe has some history of sovereignty and retains some sovereignty. So, it may be a question for the courts. In the meantime, the pastor, Sarah Lucas, said that she's sorry it came off as an attack, but she's not sorry for preaching that quote ‘Jesus is the only way.’”

Protests unfolded at the Riverton City Hall and at the Foundations for Nations church site in the town of Arapahoe. Protestors joined in a traditional chant as honks and whoops sounded from passing vehicles.

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A company called Site Layer 4 wants to rezone 5,344 acres of ranchland near Wheatland for a data center and power plant. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the project, the developer says, adds 300 jobs and substantial tax revenue, but neighbors worry about water, wildlife, and their viewshed.

“There's some big figures to throw around here with this. I think $26 billion in capital investment, 5,000-plus acres, 250 to 300 employees. The rancher I talked to said he's not against the project, but he really hopes that they're taking appropriate steps to protect the wildlife in the area. The economic developer. Her take on this is: if you've driven through Wheatland, you've seen the vacant buildings. This is a place that could use some commercial development, some economic development, to help create opportunities to keep their kids home.”

The property is roughly 13 miles east of Interstate 25, in an area now used for grazing and agriculture. Public hearings about the data center are scheduled to begin in August.

The body of Tory Raether was found in the Snake River a week after leaping into the swift currents without a lifejacket. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that  family and friends remember Raether as a devoted husband, father and mentor. 

“After a week of searching and waiting, the body of 55-year-old, North Carolina man Tory Raither was discovered on Saturday, july 11, by campers. After discovering the body the campers paddleboarded out and then called the authorities. Search and rescue was already in the water, and so they were able to respond quickly. Raither's wife, daughters, and friends were in the area helping search and rescue when the body was found. They are planning to take the body back to North Carolina for a burial.”

The 55-year-old Raether disappeared July 4th after jumping into the river at Jump Rock, a popular recreation area about 3½ miles east of Alpine. Members of his group tried unsuccessfully to rescue him after he began struggling against the swift current.

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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GOP congressional candidate Chuck Gray derided primary opponent Reid Rasner after he brought Gray’s father into the campaign by saying "Chuck Gray’s Dad Supports Reid.” Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports Gray called it “more unhinged nonsense from Reid Rasner.” 

“He's been trolling Chuck Gray, but this is a true troll in that he's saying Chuck Gray's dad supports Reed, and he showed screenshots that appear to depict Jan Charles Gray, the Secretary of State's father, casting heart face and fire emojis on Reed Raisner posts. And so I asked Jan Charles Gray about this. He didn't deny or confirm leaving those reactions. He did reiterate, though, that he emphatically supports his son.”

Rasner’s team did not respond to a text message request for an interview, for the original screenshots, or for confirmation of a different claim Rasner made Monday.

For many northern Wyoming communities, Sunday was the hottest day in recorded history. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi ticks off the list of towns that broke records. 

“There's no way to do justice for how hot it was on Sunday without just listing the all time temperature records broken on Sunday, and these are the hottest temperatures ever recorded in these communities: 110 degrees in Worland, 104 degrees in Sheridan, 104 degrees in Buffalo. I asked Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day if there's a likelihood that it could get this hot again during the summer. The short answer is it could get that hot again on Tuesday. It's not likely to be as hot as Sunday, but it could be just as hot.”

At Lake Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park, Sunday’s high was 88 degrees. The previous record was 86, set on July 19, 2021.

After an outcry, Game and Fish has decided to back off its proposal to prevent veterans with PTSD and other non-apparent disabilities from hunting during special early seasons. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Bill Brinegar of Hunting With Heroes says, the public’s reaction was “loud and clear.”

“After a huge pushback from the public, they decided to go ahead and reverse that, and so the Game and Fish Department tomorrow on Tuesday will recommend to the Game and Fish Commission that that rule just stay in place. 100% If the VA says you're 100% disabled, that works for us. You can have access to these special early hunts. The proposal was to basically to narrow it down to extreme physical disabilities only. They got massive pushback against that, including from a lot of veterans groups.”

The department will recommend against removing a provision for counting a “100% service-related disability,” based on a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, in Wyoming’s disabled-hunter regulations.  The final decision is up to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, which is scheduled to vote on it during its meeting Tuesday in Sheridan.

The galloping horse and rider at Wrangler’s Western-wear store has been a fixture in downtown Cheyenne since the 1950s, but it broke down four years ago and efforts to fix it failed. Cowboy State Daily’s Executive Editor Jimmy Orr reports that now, a Cheyenne family rebuilt the horse in time for Cheyenne Frontier Days.

“Patrick Graham was talking to a city councilman and said that his office was right across the street from the Wrangler, and ‘I sure wish they would fix that thing.’ And so Pete told him, ‘We'll fix it.’ They were told yes, you can take it down if you have it up in time for Frontier Days. So they took it down. They spent more than 300 hours in just recreating this horse and rider, and it's amazing what they did.” 

The pony and rider have been featured outside The Wrangler’s western-wear store at Capitol Avenue and 16th Street since the late 1950s or early 1960s. It’s now owned by Boot Barn. No one knows precisely when the sign made its first appearance, and there’s no record of its creator.

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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

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 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 7 14 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Tuesday's headlines include:
* Man Flipped By Bison Recovering
* Now Possible Data Center In Wheatland
* Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Sunny in Wyoming on Tuesday, with a chance of rain in the west. Extreme heat warning or heat advisory for much of the state. Fire danger, breezy in some areas. Highs mainly in the 90s and low 100s. Lows in the 50s and 60s.

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Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 99 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and hot today with a high near 102 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 64 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Heat advisory through tomorrow night. Red flag fire warning until tomorrow night. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 99 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

 Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 91 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 54.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and hot today with a high near 99 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 62.

Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 4 p.m. Sunny today with a high near 93 and becoming mostly clear overnight with a low near 56 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 4 p.m. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 93 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 55 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 2 p.m. Increasing clouds, breezy and hot today with a high near 100 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 11 p.m. and a low near 56.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 5 p.m. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 93 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Breezy, gradually clearing overnight with a slight chance of rain before 7 p.m., a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after noon. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 55.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 2 p.m. Increasing clouds and hot today with a high near 98 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m. and a low near 56.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 7 p.m. and a low near 50.

Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 5 p.m., otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 104 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 67.

:  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Slight chance of rain after 5 p.m., otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 98 and partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before 7 p.m., a low near 66 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and hot today with a high near 106 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 66.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and hot today with a high near 100 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 67.

  Extreme heat warning through tomorrow night. Sunny and hot today with a high near 104 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 64.

:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 98 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 64.

Heat advisory until Thursday night. Sunny and hot today with a high near 103 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 69 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Heat advisory until Thursday night. Sunny today with a high near 99 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 69 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

:   Heat advisory until Thursday night. Sunny and hot today with a high near 104 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 69 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

  Heat advisory through tomorrow night. Red flag fire warning until tomorrow night. Sunny and hot today with a high near 98 and wind from 10-20 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 65 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Heat advisory through tomorrow night. Red flag fire warning until tomorrow night. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 99 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 100 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

  Heat advisory through tomorrow night. Red flag fire warning until tomorrow night. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 59 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 87 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Heat advisory through tomorrow night. Red flag fire warning until tomorrow night. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 92 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny and hot today with a high near 93 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 58.

  Sunny and hot today with a high near 95 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 55 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

  Extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 93 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 55.

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<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Native American Tribes

[{"type":"text","text":"Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No "}]

Northern Arapaho Tribal leaders told a Christian pastor who said "a pipe cannot hear your prayers" to leave their reservation. The pastor said she's staying, and won't apologize for preaching from the Bible. 

The Northern Arapaho Tribe’s executive branch has asked a Christian church to leave the reservation, the tribe’s chair said Friday.

In response, Foundations for Nations pastor Sarah Lucas told Cowboy State Daily she and her family aren’t planning to leave yet. They’re looking to legal solutions to stay – and hoping for a “revival” in the meantime, Lucas said.

The church, which has operated in Fremont County for nine years, sits within the borders of the Wind River Indian Reservation, but it’s on a parcel of private, not tribal, land.

The controversy erupted eight days ago when Lucas discouraged some tribal faith practices during a church service, just as the tribe finished its Sundance ceremonies. She had said, “a pipe cannot hear your prayers,” and “we know that Jesus is enough.”

. Northern Arapaho Tribal members were furious at what they cast as an insult to their “grandfather pipe” – a revered relic associated with the Arapaho creation story.

Protests unfolded at the Riverton City Hall and at the Foundations for Nations church site in the town of Arapahoe.

“I want a public apology from them,” said Northern Arapaho Business Council Chair Keenan Groesbeck during a 

 last Tuesday. He stood in front of a yellow tape line that stretched across the church’s driveway. 

[{"type":"text","text":"He said Lucas’ message was disrespectful."}]

“If they don’t want to apologize to us, they can leave,” said Groesbeck. 

Protestors joined in a traditional chant as honks and whoops sounded from passing vehicles.

Lucas went to a meeting with tribal leaders Friday. She said the council allowed its “Four Old Men” elder group to join the meeting, and leaders discussed the importance of the pipe relic and told her to leave.

[{"type":"text","text":"Lucas described the meeting as unprofessional."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Groesbeck took to Facebook about two hours later."}]

“Just so everyone knows. We told Foundations For Nations and Sarah Lucas they got to go. We ain’t putting up with their bullshit,” says Groesbeck’s Friday post. “

Groesbeck could not be reached for comment by publication. Nor could the other council members except for Sami Dresser, who declined to comment.

The tribe’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

Lucas told Cowboy State Daily she won’t apologize for preaching from the Bible, though she wishes to apologize “that it came off as an attack.”

“But I am a Christian preacher. I am a pastor and I preach the full counsel of God’s word,” she said. 

Lucas said she’s not against the sun dance altogether: she supports fasting and praying as a whole concept. But she understands the ceremony also involves “the worship of the pipe,” she said, adding that’s idolatry, and irreconcilable with the teaching that “Jesus is the only way.”

She pointed to the divisive messages the Bible attributes to Jesus, and the persecution and martyrdom his followers suffered.

“You could take everything from me but you can’t take my God,” said Lucas. “I’m willing to be martyred for the faith. I’ve counted the cost.”

She voiced mild surprise at the current outrage, saying community members have maligned Jesus and biblical teaching to her for years and she hasn’t retaliated. 

Regarding the tribal community, Lucas said she loves them and wants to maintain a forgiving posture. She referenced the high suicide, poverty, and addiction rates of the reservation. And she reiterated part of the same message that sparked this clash.

“Only Jesus can turn a life around, can deliver somebody, can set somebody free,” she said, adding that she’s called to preach that and is “more concerned with eternity, than I am about earthly hate.”

Lucas said people have been “twisting” her family’s message, casting their work as a grift and slandering them. She countered, noting that she did not take a salary for the church’s first several years, and that she’s now at about $25,000 annually. Her husband has worked two jobs in the past to pay their bills, she said.

She rebutted other rumors about harms to kids in the church’s sizable kids’ program, saying “All these lies are making the kids in our program feel unsafe. And that just hurts.”

Lucas indicated her family isn’t ready to leave the reservation. She said she wants to see people’s hearts changed.

“They might be mad for now, but I believe the supernatural power of God is going to turn this around,” said Lucas. “We don’t obey man. We obey God.”

She said she and her family are working with an attorney to remain on their parcel. They’re also weathering death threats, according to multiple screenshots Lucas sent Cowboy State Daily.

The outlet reached out to the FBI late Monday and will update this story when the agency comments.

Special church events are suspended for now, but church is scheduled for each Sunday as usual, Lucas said, adding that some kids still want to come to youth group, and some parents have been asking when the church will start youth group again.

The church runs a philanthropic food pantry, which closed early last week.  

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Why Are They Trying To Save Us?’"}]

Chris Friday, a tribal member who has helped to coordinate multiple protests, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the question of whether the Lucases and church must leave the reservation “Now (is) probably going to involve the courts.”

Friday helped organize another protest outside the church during its Sunday service, which occurred on schedule. He said church attendees were seen “carrying around guns.”

Lucas confirmed this in her own interview, as she referenced the death threats.

“There’s people protesting there all the time,” said Friday, regarding the church. “Just, what they said, man. It hurts us as Arapaho people. Makes us seem like we’re lower than them, that their way is better than ours.”

Friday defended the Arapaho prayer traditions, saying they go back generations, and non-tribal members have often tried to observe them without permission.

“Why are they interested in us so much? Why are they trying to save us? I don’t know. We don’t need any saving or anything; we didn’t ask for them,” said Friday. “They should just take the hint and leave – respectfully of course. Go back to where you were.”

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which Arapaho and other tribal leaders signed along with the U.S. government, says any “bad men among the whites” or other people who “commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians” shall be, “upon proof” handed to the federal government for arrest and punishment according to the nation’s laws. The offender shall “also reimburse the injured persons for the loss sustained,” the treaty says.

Friday referenced the clause as a potential avenue for barring the Lucases from the reservation.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s uncertain whether the tribe would win such a case."}]

Some tribes invoked it against the federal government in litigation regarding pharmaceutical companies’ marketing and sale of opioid drugs to tribal members. That claim failed because the tribes “(failed) to allege a ‘wrong’ cognizable under the treaty,” says a Dec. 9, 2020, 

 of Federal Claims, and the opioid company hadn’t come onto the reservation to commit some wrong.

Friday noted in his interview that tribal land surrounds the Foundations for Nations private land parcel. He wondered aloud if the tribe could block the Lucases’ access, but said “I don’t know how that would really work. It would probably have to go through the court.”

[{"type":"text","text":"More From That Church Service"}]

Lucas’ full sermon was unavailable at least as of Monday. The one-minute, 38-second clip that went viral last week depicts Lucas paraphrasing from the Bible: “tear down the altars, tear down the idols.”

She spoke of “this nation” gathering in recent days, praying. The tribal members had just conducted their sun dance ceremony.

“They prayed to pipes and they prayed to the ancestors, believing this is the way for their freedom. To get free from addiction, for people to be healed … this is what this culture did this week,” said Lucas.

[{"type":"text","text":"She urged the congregation to pray."}]

“Because we know that Jesus is enough. He’s enough. It’s not Jesus-plus. It’s Jesus everything. He’s everything,” said Lucas.

She referenced people she described as tribal members who have become Christians.

“And they understand the price … when they say that publicly. The persecution that can come with them publicly,” Lucas said. “But they know that this is it. Jesus is the chain breaker. He’s the only one that we should be praying to. A pipe cannot hear your prayers.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Because Of This Dark History"}]

Christian Wassana, an enrolled Cheyenne Arapaho of Oklahoma who played Martin Kills Many on “Yellowstone," told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday interview that tribal members are still wrestling with troubling treatments by past, Christian-affiliated missions, such as the boarding schools that forbade the children from speaking their native languages.

[{"type":"text","text":"He had posted one of the original links to the video of Lucas preaching."}]

Indian boarding schools proliferated in the nation a century ago, many run by religious groups and funded with federal money.

Historical accounts tell of tribal leaders who wanted their kids to gain an education, a federal government that wanted to assimilate the kids and religious leaders who wanted to convert them.

Northern Arapaho sub-chief Sharp Nose sent his son, Little Chief, to the Carlisle boarding school in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s, hoping the boy could learn skills from the white man for surviving in the new culture.

Little Chief died in the school’s infirmary in 1883 and was buried on school grounds – a common occurrence for tribal children.

Jesuits came to the Wind River Indian Reservation and built St. Stephen’s Indian School in 1884.

Arapaho 7 13 26

<title>Arapaho Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Northern Arapaho Tribal leaders have told a Christian church to leave the reservation after the pastor preached "a pipe cannot hear your prayers.'  The pastor said she's staying, and won't apologize for preaching that "Jesus is the only way."

Arapaho Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Energy

Agriculture

A massive data center and power generation complex is being proposed for 5,344 acres of ranchland northeast of Wheatland in Platte County near the Goshen County line, on property owned by the Lazy V Six Ranch.

The developer, a company called Site Layer 4, has filed an application to rezone the land from agricultural to industrial for what it describes as a $26 billion data center campus with co-located, utility-scale energy generation. The property is roughly 13 miles east of Interstate 25, in an area now used for grazing and agriculture.

Public hearings for the rezoning have been set for 7 p.m. Aug. 11 before the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission and 10 a.m. Aug. 20 before the Platte County Commission. 

Site Layer 4 says in its application that the project would be built over multiple years and is designed to concentrate infrastructure in one unified location. 

Residents who live around the Goshen Hole Rim say that location also happens to include springs, mule deer habitat and big-sky views their families have cherished for generations. 

In its application, Site Layer 4 describes the Wheatland project as a long-term phased industrial campus that could scale with market demand. 

“Rezoning the proposed project area would allow well-planned large-scale industrial development in an appropriate location, and protect private landowner rights to use property for business and economic purposes in a manner reasonably balanced with regulatory oversight,” Site Layer 4 wrote in its application. 

Site Layer 4 also emphasizes that the project area represents less than half of 1% of the acres devoted to ranching and agriculture in Platte County.

“The project area has been selected specifically because it enables development of a unified, co-located facility, limiting potential sprawl of infrastructure and associated regional impacts,” the company added. “The project area has access to critical grid interconnection and other necessary existing infrastructure, is separated from residential uses and public spaces, and is visually buffered via topography from the community of Wheatland.”

Site Layer 4 further promises that the campus would include stormwater drainage and other environmental controls consistent with local, state and federal requirements, and would “prioritize environmental protection and effective mitigation of potential environmental impacts.”

That might sound good on paper, one of the project’s neighbors, George Gamblin conceded. But, he said, the project’s footprint falls within a dramatic and scenic portion of Goshen Hole where Platte County’s plateau drops hundreds of feet into canyons and draws before flattening out again across Goshen County.

“You can see clear into Nebraska from here,” Gamblin said. “You can look all the way across Goshen County.”

The area is a unique land feature for the area, a place where there are plants and animals that probably should not be there, and would not be there, but for a micro-climate that’s supporting what would typically need more water.

“I probably have a couple hundred acres of pine trees on my little property that are not even really supposed to be there,” He said. “I think it’s about a 12-plus precip zone, and they’re not even really supposed to be growing there. But some of these trees are probably 100-plus years old. And they contain a lot of birds and things like that, which typically don’t exist in this area out here in the plains.”

Gamblin’s family has been in the location for close to 90 years.

“I live on Goshen Hole Rim, which dissects Platte and Goshen counties,” he said. “And in places, from the rim to the bottom is anywhere from I don’t know, 400 to 600 feet that drop and what you have in those canyons, there’s a lot of varied habitat.”

Ponderosa pine, mountain mahogany and little riparian areas near the natural springs that come up in the bottom of the canyons lie within a half to three-quarters of a mile from the proposed rezoning.

“Some of the wildlife we have out there — it’s pretty amazing,” Gamblin said. “I had some professional birders come out and they got I believe over 40 species of birds in like seven or eight hours walking along the rim.”

There’s also a diversity of wildlife, including elk and mule deer, as well as occasional mountain lions — which Gamblin noted wasn’t mentioned in the wildlife portion of the application.

“There’s just any number of things that are very unique to Platte County, and especially this part of Platte County,” he said. “So I would like to see, at the very least, some kind of buffer for that kind of habitat.”

From his place, much of the proposed industrial zone would sit less than a mile and a half away, with the rezoning boundary coming to within about a half-mile of his property.

“That’s a huge tract of land that’s going to affect quite a few people,” he said. “I understand private property rights and I respect them, but that needs to work both ways in my mind. You need to respect the neighbors. There’s no reason where they can’t protect Goshen Hole Rim and still probably have everything they need down there on the lessee’s land.”

Gamblin hopes if the project happens despite such objections, he hopes appropriate steps will at least be taken to protect water, wildlife and the view.

“I would rather not see it go in at all,” he said. “But I do understand the private property issue and I understand people wanting to make more money to benefit from it.”

Water and the view are the two biggest issues for Kathryn Stevens, who lives across the rim on the Chugwater Flats about 5 miles from the proposed industrial zone.

“We moved out here specifically for the wide-open space, for the landscape, for the beauty, because we wanted to be homesteaders,” she said. “We moved out here to appreciate the heritage of the land.”

The project has taken her and her family by surprise.

“I came from western Washington, where that land, which is really beautiful land, has been exploited,” she said. “And it’s so sad to see that. I just shudder to think of that happening here in an area that’s in many ways kind of untouched. I can look out my window and see for 40 miles, and I don’t know what would compel somebody to destroy that or put a huge building there. I just don’t understand that.”

The family, like their neighbors, all depend on domestic wells for water, so how much water the data center might use is her biggest concern. 

“Everybody knows we’re in a drought,” she said. “Farmers are plowing under their wheat because it’s too low to even harvest and a lot of farmers didn’t even plant this spring. We are an ag community. Water is life. If you don’t protect your water supply, you’re going to be real sorry.”

The flats have no access to municipal water, Stevens added. 

“The people who live here rely on their wells solely,” she said. “If our wells were to go dry or become intermittent, then we wouldn’t be able to live up here. Like, there’s no alternative, and you also wouldn’t be able to sell our land for anything.”

The developer’s documents say the data center will use a closed-loop system to minimize water use. Its annual water use would be comparable to that of 25 to 30 residential homes, which Platte County Economic Development Executive Director Josephine Young characterized as watering about 5 acres of hay a year.

Young said she’s fielded phone calls, emails and social media posts about the project, some of which are mixing concerns for Wheatland with stories from Georgia and Cheyenne. 

She hopes residents will zero in on the specifics of Site Layer 4’s project and judge the project on its merits. 

“I’m sure you’ve been to Wheatland plenty of times,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s a lot of vacant buildings. I think something everyone can relate to is wanting a place where their kids can come back to. I have an 8-year-old little girl, and I know we don’t want to lose our small-town culture, but we also want to thrive.”

A company called Site Layer 4 wants to rezone 5,344 acres of ranchland near Wheatland for a data center and power plant. The project, they say, adds 300 jobs and substantial tax revenue, but neighbors worry about water, wildlife and the viewshed.

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, November 27, 2024

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