The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Mineral, Business, and Economic Development Committee met in the Jackson Town Hall over the last two days discussing a myriad of issues.  One topic discussed was the repeated problem of exceeding ozone pollution levels in Sublette County in the winter time.  Two winters ago was a real problem.  Last winter was not as bad.
John Cora, the Director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, gave a report on what the state has done to try and bring the levels of ozone down.  The oil and gas …

As many of you know, Teton County hauls their solid waste (garbage) to the Sublette County Landfill.  One of the main reasons is that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requires that a landfill cannot impact groundwater.  In Teton County it is hard to find a suitable location that does not affect groundwater.  Thus the old landfill south of town was closed and now a transfer station sits there.
The State of Wyoming has been grappling with the issue of landfills impacting ground water for many years.  The Federal EPA …

Sherry Daigle, the Teton County Clerk, has this great photo up in her office of an aerial view of the town of Jackson in the 1960′s.  Actually she has numerous photos of Jackson in her office from the 1960′s and 70′s.  This is the Jackson that she remembers growing up in and sometimes when she is describing a  location in town, she uses landmarks that no longer exist.  I lamented to her one day that my old Jackson Hole High School had been torn down to make room for Colter …

Below is an article from the LA Times discussing the Duty of Care bill that I sponsored along with Sen. Ross last legislative session.  It is presently being debated in the Joint Judiciary Committee, where Sen. Ross and I serve as co-chairs.  The article is discussing some of the testimony that came out last week when we met in Cheyenne.

Reporting from Cheyenne, Wyo. – This is a state anxious to shed its reputation as the most dangerous place in the nation to work.
For the last several years, Wyoming has outpaced …

This is a story about my nephew that appeared in some papers back East.

Cadet finds time to get donuts
One of the toughest challenges during West Point’s six weeks of boot camp is the land navigation course. New Army cadets have only four hours to find at least eight out of 10 points scattered across a vast wooded training ground east of Central Valley.
One new cadet, Grant Demaree, 17, of Marriottsville, Md., wasn’t worried. He bet his comrades that he could find all the …

State Representative Keith Gingery of Jackson, announced today that he spent the morning flying over the Wyoming Range and the Hoback area looking at disputed oil and gas leases.  The Wilderness Society and the Wyoming Outdoor Council arranged with EcoFlight to fly Rep. Gingery, the Mayor of Pinedale, and 2 reporters from Pinedale over the Wyoming Range for a 2 hour flight in a small Cessna.  EcoFlight works to advocate for the environment by getting policy makers into the air to see the issues from above.

The Wyoming Outdoor …

Gingery Honored as Conservation Champion
The Wyoming Conservation Voters came out with their 2007 Legislative Scorecard this past week, and I was honored as a “Conservation Champion” for Wyoming.  Only ten legislators received the honor of being named a “Conservation Champion.
Specifically, the Wyoming Conservation Voters stated “Rep. Keith Gingery (R-Jackson/HD 23) helped win approval for Wildlife Trust funding late in the session after a series of similar proposals were rejected, setting the stage for a successful compromise between the House and Senate.”  The House position was a very low number for the …

Understanding Property Taxes
The first part to understand is that we have 3 different classes of property.  Minerals are assessed at their full 100% value.  Industrial property is assessed at a rate of 11.5%.  And residential property, which is what we are discussing, is assessed at 9.5%.  What this means is that if your house has fair market value as determined by the assessor of $100,000 (I know that is unrealistic for Teton County, but I am bad at math, so I have to use easy numbers) then you multiply by …

Gender Wage Gap in Wyoming
The Wyoming Department of Employment – Research and Planning came out with an article this month in the Wyoming Labor Force Trends Newsletter that discusses wage gaps in Wyoming’s counties.  The research and article are by Sylvia Jones, a Senior Research Analyst at the department.
 Ms. Jones relates that in 2006 full time working women in Wyoming earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by a full time working man in Wyoming.  One of the primary factors pointed out in the article for this problem is that …

Gingery Proposes Wolf Bill

The first part is the press release that went out yesterday that explains the bill.  The second part is the actual bill.   

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 Press Release
State Representative Keith Gingery of Jackson Hole proposed a wolf bill today that will resolve the issues highlighted by Federal District Court Judge Molloy in his recent ruling against the State of Wyoming’s wolf management plan.  The Wyoming wolf management plan allowed for a dual classification of wolves.  A classification for trophy game (which allows for hunting in season as prescribed by Game and Fish) …