Kathryn Stevens says she considers herself one of Wyoming’s “modern homesteaders.”
Stevens keeps chickens, horses and even rabbits on her 15-acre plot of land in the Chugwater area. There, she homeschools her four children, grows most of her own food, keeps bees and otherwise lives off the land.
“I don’t like really considering myself a homesteader because we have access to running water and electricity,” she laughs in a phone conversation Friday with Cowboy State Daily. “I can’t put myself in the same really cool category as people who homesteaded her 100 years ago.”
Despite the small acreage of her land, Stevens says it is her goal to be as self-sufficient as possible. Though she is located within an hour of many modern conveniences located in the state’s largest city of Cheyenne, Stevens says she works hard to maintain her independent way of life.
“It’s hard to do in southeastern Wyoming,” she says. “It takes a lot of determination and ingenuity.”
Stevens and her husband moved to Wyoming from Washington state to work the same land which they say was homesteaded by their relatives in the 1920s. Raising their children in the state’s wide-open spaces, she says, was also a key determining factor in their decision to move.
As a homesteader, Stevens says she understands and supports Wyoming’s deep tradition of private property rights, which gives individuals the freedom to use their land in any way they please. This is why she became so concerned when she learned of a new energy development coming to her community.
Florida-based energy developer NextEra Energy Resources is behind the Chugwater Energy Project, a development it claims could potentially produce an estimated 600 megawatts of power. The company says it plans to build up to 107 wind turbines and solar panels on about 47,000 acres in Platte County and 6,100 acres in Goshen County.
NextEra explains the Chugwater region “has some of the nation’s highest quality-rated renewable energy potential.” Should the project receive approval from state and local officials, it would proceed in December 2027.
Both Landowners, Different Views
Stevens says she read Cowboy State Daily’s coverage of the Chugwater Energy Project, which included conversations with rancher Paul Norfleet who partnered with NextEra to bring wind turbines to his land.
Norfleet and Stevens stand in contrast, but also share some views. They both deeply value their land and survive off of it. But they also have differing views about wind energy development and whether it belongs on their property.
While Stevens agrees Norfleet should have the freedom to use his property the way he wants, she argues bringing turbines to Chugwater would create an impact felt far beyond the borders of his land.
She argues that an industrial development, such as the one proposed by NextEra, is a misinterpretation of private property rights.
“I mean, these things are 500 feet tall,” she said. “That’s almost twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and there are going to be 107 of them? The scope of that goes beyond a private citizen doing a private thing on their private land.”
Far-Reaching Impacts
Stevens argues the development may go as far as altering the character of the land around Chugwater by polluting the water or shedding fiberglass across the project area.
Stevens claims she shared these concerns with Norfleet, who she says didn’t seem worried.
“He said, ‘Oh, it’s not harmful, it’s just inert and lies on the ground,’” Stevens says. “And I was thinking ‘that doesn’t sound like a farmer or a rancher.’ I don’t know any ranchers who are cool with their cattle eating fiberglass.”
Norfleet told Cowboy State Daily he understands Stevens’ concerns but cannot relate to them.
“Me and her had a good conversation but agreed to disagree,” he said. “I believe all concerns people may have deserve a right to be heard, with that said it does boil down to property rights, we look to experts to give us the information about whatever it is that we look to use, unfortunately there is a lot of skepticism in the experts.
"I just have a hard time understanding how a windmill is going to do all the damage critics claim.”
Aside from these more tangible impacts, Stevens said the vibrations created by wind turbines could become a detriment to individuals who are predisposed to negative health outcomes.
Stevens and her two sons suffer from a medical condition preventing them from breaking down the chemical compound histamines in their blood. Histamines act as a signal to the body’s immune system to react to a stimulus and are believed to be a key driver of allergic reactions.
The continuous vibrations created by wind turbines, Stevens says, could cause her and her sons to experience negative reactions. Stevens says she has raised the issue with the state Department of Health officials to convince them the turbines have evolved beyond property rights into a health hazard.
“If it was just a matter of them being ugly, I could get over that,” she says. “My concern is people that are susceptible, they can’t leave their homes as easily.”
“For us, being less than three miles from the border of the project, the health ramifications could be pretty significant,” she adds. “I think that my kids’ health is more important that someone else making money.”
While the landowners may receive some monetary compensation in the process, Stevens says they will not be immune from these negative impacts either.
“It’s just a lose-lose situation,” she says. “The money is not worth it in my opinion. Not for them and not for us.”
Ranchers Respond
Norfleet told Cowboy State Daily earlier this month he doesn't see anything wrong with his participation in the project as his landscape is already dotted with other structures like defunct missile silos, oil rigs and cell towers.
“You hate to see things change,” Norfleet said. “People hate what windmills look like, but I didn’t realize there was opposition until all this.”
As a partner in the Chugwater Energy Project, Norfleet will receive regular payments from NextEra. That income, he said, could go toward buying him a new farm truck, which can cost upward of $90,000.
In nearby Laramie County, the Board of County Commissioners this month shot down a similar wind development project after fierce debate from locals.
Charlie Farthing, a landowner involved in the project, touched on his deep fifth-generation roots in Wyoming ranching. He said he partnered with the project as a safeguard against a drought impacting his land.
“We see this project as a way of diversification for the ranch,” he said. “We see this as a way for additional income in future years.
“We’ve got a saying in the country: ‘Don’t criticize the farmer because he’s the one that feeds you.’"
Mending Fences
One of Stevens’ favorite poems is "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost. In that piece, Frost describes how he and his neighbor repair the fence between them on a yearly basis and includes the famous line “good fences make good neighbors.”
Stevens says this wisdom should also apply to wind turbine developers who want to move into her neighborhood. She says setbacks, or legal requirements about how far a turbine can be from a residence, are an appropriate compromise for everyone.
“In my opinion, the fence in this case is the setback between the wind farm and the residence,” she says.
Platte County’s current setbacks require new developments to be removed from residential district boundaries by half a mile. This, she says, is far too close and would like to see it moved to at least a mile.
Ideally, she says, wind developments would take place on a large plot of land owned by one individual. This would allow for maximum distance and protection for nearby landowners.
“I mean it’s just ‘good fences make good neighbors,’ it needs to be distanced from where people live,” she says. “I’m not against wind power ideologically. It just needs to be significantly studied to discover where the safe distance is so it’s not infringing on people’s actual bodily health.”
Platte Pushback
Stevens was just one of several community members who shared concerns about the project at Thursday’s open house meeting at Glendo Town Hall. Several in attendance said the turbines would ruin the views of their landscape, drive away wildlife and become a nuisance.
At the meeting, residents played a video showing negative impacts of wind turbines, such as catching fire, spreading fiberglass and polluting groundwater. Those present called on their community to contact their county commissioners to make sure the project is defeated.
Landowner Jonathan Pitroff told Cowboy State Daily he shares many of these concerns, adding that he also prefers living in the Chugwater area due to its remoteness.
“There’s a reason we live out here,” he said. “We moved from the northwest and came out here and are away from it all for a reason.”
Pitroff said he is the father of six children, including an infant son who remains in the NICU due to a heart defect. He said the thought of bringing his immunocompromised son home with a turbine present does not sit well with him.
“It’s probably a displacement kind of thing for us,” he said of his potential response to a turbine development.
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
