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The Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners voted 3-2 on Feb. 5 to cancel controversial wind leases tied to the Pronghorn and Sidewinder projects in the eastern part of the state.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports this that the Pronghorn project involves state land in Converse County, while the Sidewinder project is in Niobrara County.
Both leases were approved by the state board in April 2025, but were met with months of opposition from local residents and landowners.
According to the newspaper, accountant Kristi Racines, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder supported the motions to begin phasing out the wind leases, while Gov. Mark Gordon and Treasurer Curt Meier opposed the action.
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A pickup truck drives past wind turbines generating electricity near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, on August 14, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In a statement after the vote, Gray said he believed the board acted within its authority after a court found the original approval of the lease illegal.
‘I remain against these woke wind leases because they are wrong for Wyoming and are in breach of the fiduciary duty of the Board of Directors,” he said.
“As the only member of the State Board of Land Commissioners to vote against this idiot wind proposal when it was first presented to the Board last April, I know the people of Converse and Niobrara counties have been eagerly awaiting a resolution to this issue,” Gray added.
The Boysen Dam stands on the Wind River near Shoshoni, Wyoming on July 5, 2023. (Don and Melinda Crawford/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Many residents commented publicly during the meeting in the Capitol Complex Auditorium in Cheyenne raised concerns about the long-term effects of large-scale wind development on wildlife, water resources and property values.
Others focused on water use and infrastructure, arguing that the projects could strain local water supplies and disrupt existing land use, while several speakers criticized what they described as a lack of transparency and shifting project plans.
A man talks to an employee as he tours his ranch on July 23, 2024, near Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“There’s not a lot of transparency in this whole thing. That’s one of our complaints,” one man said during the more than six-hour meeting.
