Wyoming is the nation's least-populated state,
but second homes occupy much of its open space

By Diana Hulme and Harold Bergman
for Headwaters News

Most of us have heard by now that the Rocky Mountain West has been the fastest-growing region in the country over the past few years. And by now most of us have witnessed the explosive growth and loss of open spaces along Colorado's Front Range, Utah's Wasatch Front, or around the growing Boise metropolis. But what about population growth and the attendant loss of open spaces in places like Wyoming?

One might ask, "What is there to worry about? Wyoming is synonymous with open spaces." With fewer than 500,000 people, Wyoming continues to be dead last in population in the United States. With development generally precluded from almost half of Wyoming's land area because it is owned and managed by the federal government, vast areas of scenic open space seem to be secure. Of the remaining privately held land in Wyoming, a little more than 90 percent is used for agriculture, an enterprise that by its nature provides open space, scenic views, wildlife habitat and preservation of our ranching culture.

Several counties in western Wyoming grew as much during the 1990s as some of the fastest-growing states in the country.

But things change. Rural residential sprawl has become a hot issue up and down the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico, and Wyoming is no exception. Because of growing concern expressed by Wyoming's citizens and leaders, the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming was asked several years ago to begin investigating the complex of issues brought to mind by the catch phrases "rural sprawl," "loss of open space" and "agriculture to residential land conversion."

Are these things really happening in Wyoming? And, if so, where and why?

To answer these kinds of questions, a team of faculty, staff and students, led by Professors Tex Taylor and Roger Coupal in the UW College of Agriculture, have been busy compiling and analyzing data from the recent census and from sources around Wyoming. What they have discovered so far is certainly interesting. For instance:

• Although Wyoming's population grew a modest 8.9 percent from 1990 to 2000 (ranking 32nd among the 50 states and well behind Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana), more than half of Wyoming's growth was in rural areas outside incorporated towns and cities.
  
  
• Several counties in western Wyoming grew as much during the 1990s as some of the fastest-growing states in the country. With a 63 percent growth rate, Teton County, Wyo., is comparable to Nevada, the nation's fastest-growing state at 66.3 percent. Sublette County, Wyo., grew by 22.2 percent, similar to Idaho's growth rate of 28.5 percent. Additionally, three-quarters of Sublette County's growth was in rural (unincorporated) areas. Lincoln County, Wyo., grew by 15.4 percent, but the northern part of the county grew 45.6 percent, which is comparable to Arizona, the second fastest-growing state in the nation at 40 percent. Again, more than three-quarters of the growth in Lincoln County, Wyo., occurred in rural areas.
  
  
• Population increase and redistribution patterns in most Wyoming counties during the 1990s indicate a marked increase in rural populations living outside of incorporated towns and cities. In some counties (Sublette, Lincoln, Crook and Fremont) almost all population growth was in rural areas. Only two of Wyoming's 24 counties (Goshen and Niobrara) decreased in rural population. And even among the four counties that lost total population, three (Washakie, Sweetwater, and Carbon) increased in their rural populations.
  
  
• Rural growth in the West often involves the conversion of a working farm or ranch to a residential subdivision. In Wyoming, many rural subdivisions are developed into parcels of 35 acres or greater because of a provision in our state subdivision laws. The result is low-density developments on large tracts, often resulting in the loss of farm or ranch land, and the open space, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat and rural culture that the farm and ranch land provide.
  
  
• Many of these rural residences are second homes. In fact, the number of second homes in Wyoming increased by 30 percent, or almost twice the national average, for the census period of 1990-2000. The census does not count second-home owners as part of a community's population, thus the impacts of second homes are not readily apparent from changes in population. Yet, second homes can have an impact on local government finances because rural residential developments tend to demand more public services than they contribute in tax revenue.
  
  
• Private lands in Wyoming provide about 50 percent of the critical winter range and many important migration corridors used by mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope and elk. Maintenance of viable herd populations for these big-game species is strongly linked to the availability of winter range and the ability to migrate between summer and winter ranges. Consequently, conversion of large blocks of private ranch and farm land to residential subdivisions can adversely affect some of Wyoming's big game herds.

These are just some of the growth issues facing Wyoming. The fact is, growth is inevitable and can be a benefit to the state's economy. The problem isn't necessarily the conversion of agricultural land to residential use, but the location and type of some of the lands that are developed can have impacts on the environment, wildlife and Wyoming's cultural heritage.

Unplanned growth can detract from the very amenities that residents of the state are here to enjoy. A recent study released by the American Farmland Trust, estimates that more than 24 million acres of western ranchland will be replaced by housing developments by the year 2020. Their study reports that Wyoming has 2.6 million acres listed as vulnerable ranchlands, much of that located in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

(For more details on the report, see their Web site at http://www.farmland.org/)

Based on some of the information presented in this article, the answer to the question, "Are Wyoming's wide open spaces being threatened by rural sprawl?" might seem like an unequivocal "Yes." However, it is never too late to act, and with cooperation among state and local leaders, and the public, we can shape Wyoming's impending growth and still preserve the qualities that make Wyoming the unique state that it is.

• For more information about the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources or its work on open-space issues, see its Web sites at http://www.uwyo.edu/enr and http://www.uwyo.edu/openspaces.
  
  
• "Population Change in Wyoming, 1990-2000" and "Second Home Growth in Wyoming, 1990-2000" summarized in this article can be downloaded from the institute's open spaces Web site or ordered by contacting the institute at:
  Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, P.O. Box 3971, Laramie, WY 82071; phone: (307)766-5080; fax: (307)766-5099; e-mail ienr@uwyo.edu.

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