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The Wagon Wheel Project

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November 7, 1972

A straw poll in Sublette County on presidential election day shows 970 people opposed to, 279 in favor of and 105 undecided on the Wagon Wheel Project, a plan to extract natural gas in the area with five underground nuclear explosions.

Date: 1972-11-07
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The Wagon Wheel Project

About the Author

Ann Chambers Noble and her husband, David, live with their children in Cora on their cattle ranch. Ann is also the owner of the historic Chambers House Bed and Breakfast in Pinedale. Ann is a writer and historian, with a B.A. in history from Bowdoin College and a M.A. in history from the University of Utah. She is the author of the award winning Pinedale, Wyoming; A Centennial History, 1904 – 2004 and Hurry McMurry; W. N. “Neil” McMurry, Wyoming Entrepreneur.

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More about Sublette County at Wyoming Places

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The Jonah Field and Pinedale Anticline: A natural-gas success story

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Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field

Note: It is interesting to see the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field, and the best way to do so is with a formal tour provided by one of the operating companies working in the area. It’s also possible to visit the field independently, though it is advised to do so carefully. There are many unmarked dirt roads, often traveled by heavy trucks. It’s easy to get lost and it is not a good idea to try to share these roads with industrial traffic.

Suggested Car Tour: Loop from Pinedale through the Pinedale Anticline, and back.

Travel time for this loop is approximately 1.5 hours with a travel area of almost 60 miles. You will cross the historic Lander Wagon Road of the Oregon Trail and see plenty of natural gas activity, traditional Wyoming ranching, and plenty of Wyoming wildlife. It’s well worth the trip.

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The Pinedale Anticline runs relatively close to Wyoming Highway 191. The northwest corner of the Field is...

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The Wagon Wheel Project test site

According to locator maps published in newspapers at the time, El Paso Natural Gas Company’s test well for the Wagon Wheel Project was located on the south side of Wyoming Highway 351 in Sublette County, around six miles west of that highway’s intersection with Highway 191. The well was in what’s now better known as the Pinedale Anticline, which, together with the Jonah Field to the south, is as of 2012 one of the most productive natural-gas fields in the world.

Also as of early 2012, no sign remains of the original test well, and there is a new active gas-well pad over the spot. For directions to a tour of the gas fields, click here.