US officials approve large natural gas field in Wyoming

Federal officials have approved a natural gas field in Wyoming, and protesters say the decision will threaten roaming pronghorn.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide reports the Bureau of Land Management issued a record of decision Tuesday for the 3,500-well field on more than 200 square miles of mostly federal land in Sublette County.

The Bureau of Land Management statement says the field could produce 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and up to 140 million barrels of oil over its expected 40-year lifespan, generating $18 billion in revenue.

Western Watersheds Project staffer Kelly Fuller says her group will fight the decision, as it “moves greater sage-grouse closer to extinction and threatens pronghorn.”

Pronghorn are an antelope-like mammal native to interior western and central North America.