Letter To The Editor: Thousands at Risk Along Horse Creek Road In Laramie County

Dear editor: From traffic overload to habitat loss, a proposed wind project would upend life for residents and wildlife northwest of Cheyenne.

August 21, 20254 min read

Wind turbines stand nearly 300 feet tall in southern Wyoming in this file photo.
Wind turbines stand nearly 300 feet tall in southern Wyoming in this file photo. (Getty Images)

Dear editor:

From traffic overload to habitat loss, a proposed wind project would upend life for residents and wildlife northwest of Cheyenne.

I am writing to express deep concern about the proposed 170-turbine Laramie Range Wind Project, just 26 miles northwest of Cheyenne in Horse Creek, Wyoming.

Horse Creek is a historic ranching community where the high plains meet the Rocky Mountains, accessed from I-25 and Wyoming State Highway 211, known locally as “Horse Creek Road”. The project encompasses approximately 56,000 acres of private ranchland and state land.

What many overlook is that Horse Creek Road is not an empty stretch of prairie.

Along the 26 miles between I-25 and Horse Creek, roughly 3500 residents live in rural residential subdivisions such as Rocking Star Ranch, Quarter Circle Five, Bell Pasture, and others.

This corridor is home to families, schoolchildren, and working people who depend on this road daily for safe access to Cheyenne, schools, emergency services, and livelihoods.

As a 5th-generation Wyomingite and long-term real estate professional, I am a strong advocate for private property rights.

However, I see very little public discussion around this project, despite its far-reaching and irreversible consequences.

The failure to address temporary, and permanent, impacts on traffic, emergency services, wildlife, and water use, among many other consequences, should alarm all county residents.

Wildlife at Risk

The project would industrialize more than 56,000 acres of one of the most intact wildlife habitats in the Laramie Range. The proposed project sits in crucial winter range for mule deer and pronghorn, within two miles of a sharp-tailed grouse lek, and in prime raptor hunting grounds.

Wyoming Game & Fish warns that species already in decline — including deer, elk, antelope, raptors, bats, and migratory birds — would face habitat loss, turbine strikes, and displacement.

Even with buffers or seasonal restrictions, the sheer scale and sensitive location will result in permanent damage to biodiversity.

An Historic Community

My husband, Todd Dereemer, descends from one of Horse Creek’s founding ranching families, whose stewardship of this land dates back 150 years.

For six generations, the Dereemer Ranch has emphasized conservation, sustainable grazing, and wildlife habitat protection. This ethic of stewardship, improving rather than exploiting the land, is at odds with industrializing it for short-term energy gain.

The Dereemer Ranch borders both phases of the proposed project: 107 turbines in the west near Horse Creek and 63 turbines in the east near I-25 and Bear Creek Road.

Traffic and Safety Impacts

Construction would last at least three years, bringing hundreds of workers and delivery trucks daily. WYDOT traffic data shows Horse Creek Road and I-25 currently handles about 2600 vehicles per day.

Project estimates indicate during peak construction, over 3500 vehicles and trucks would clog Horse Creek Road daily. The proposed semi-truck and wind turbine blade haul route would have similar congestion increases on Yellowstone Road, Four Mile Road, and College Drive.

This is not only a safety issue but also an environmental one. Wildlife is most active at dawn and dusk, the same times traffic will spike. Increased collisions, road noise, and habitat fragmentation would devastate animal populations.

Equally important, this corridor is not just uninhabited open range. The 3,500 residents who live along the Horse Creek Road corridor would bear the brunt of this disruption.

Families in subdivisions such as The Reserve at Horse Creek, Spring Creek Ranch, and Mountain Shadow depend on Horse Creek Road as their only reliable connection to Cheyenne. Flooding it with industrial traffic would fundamentally disrupt daily life for thousands of county residents.

Water and Land Concerns

Each turbine requires massive concrete pads and extensive water use during construction. Laramie County already struggles with aquifer depletion and water shortages. The project developers have not identified their water sources, raising concerns for downstream appropriators and neighboring ranches.

Once agricultural land is converted to industrial use, it is lost forever. Wyoming’s working landscapes are not only productive ranches — they are open space, wildlife habitat, and cultural heritage.

The Bottom Line

Renewable energy has a role in Wyoming’s future, but projects must be sited responsibly. Sacrificing irreplaceable habitat, water resources, and historic ranchlands — and ignoring the thousands of residents who already live along the Horse Creek Road corridor — is not responsible planning.

How to Get Involved

The Laramie County Planning Office is accepting public comments at planning@laramiecountywy.gov.

Planning Commission Hearing: August 28, 2025, at 3:30 p.m., 310 W. 19th Street, Suite 310, Cheyenne.

Laramie County Board of Commissioners Hearing: September 16, 2025, at 3:30 p.m., same location.

Project details can be found online at the Laramie County Planning Permitting Portal under permit reference number PZ-25-00048. You can navigate to the Permitting Portal via the Planning and Development website

I urge my fellow residents to speak out. Let us pursue renewable energy — but not at the cost of Wyoming’s land, wildlife, and heritage.

Wendy Volk, Cheyenne