Honorable Mention
“One of the reasons our teachers are paid so well and we have such a strong education in Wyoming is because of oil and gas and the money it is producing, but because this number is declining we need to find more diverse ways to help support the economy.”
Picture This, The Future of Wyoming in Nine Years
(An imagination of what Wyoming will look like in 2030)
Shaelyn Whitlock
Age 14
Cody, Wyoming
Essay
It’s hard to imagine what Wyoming would be like in nine years, it seems such a short amount of time and there are many changes that could affect the future. Now, Wyoming is a majestic place, and an outdoor state. It presents a small-town feel and provides easy access to nature, through our state parks, the Rocky Mountains, or the absolute natural beauty Wyoming contains. I see it as a place of adventure and love hiking, fishing, going to rodeos, enjoying the snow in the wintertime, and finding pleasure in all of the outdoor activities. These are many aspects that will hopefully stay true to Wyoming within the next nine years, and that I would like to see stick around. Some ways that I feel we can achieve these things, to make Wyoming the state I imagine to see in nine years, would be to:
hold true to Wyoming’s core values,
managing wildlife,
providing good opportunities for youth to keep them in Wyoming,
having a sufficient driving economy,
and providing new opportunities besides just oil and gas.
Through doing these five things, I believe that Wyoming could become even more resilient, and affluent than it is now.
Some of the core values in Wyoming include service, collaboration, leadership, excellence, and integrity. As we follow these already, you can find that anywhere in Wyoming, a lot of people live by these standards. We need to continue to progress in these values and hold true to them so that by 2030 we can provide a wonderful place to live. A place where people are honest, and friendly, taking action and helping each other when needed.
Wyoming has many natural beauties and sights, not just including mountains and lakes, although many of them, but also wildlife. These are some of the many reasons I love and enjoy Wyoming and that I would like to stay. One of the aspects that plays into this would be managing wildlife and conserving it. In doing this, we are, “ensuring that future generations can enjoy our natural world and the incredible species that live within it” (The National Wildlife Federation, 2021). Keeping up with the wildlife management currently and on into the future can ensure that people that live here and those that pass through can continue to enjoy the wildlife available. This wouldn’t be possible without our current resources such as the Wyoming Wildlife Foundation. In nine years, I imagine progression with this program and others, whether it is adapting to new situations or just keeping these management in place. Not too many people can argue that seeing wildlife on the side of the road isn’t cool. Just the other day as I was heading home, near Jackson my family and I were able to see two mountain goats, and later that day three bull moose just off the side of the road. This experience was not my first time seeing wildlife just off the side of the road, as there are many times I have seen bears and once even a wolf. The fact that wildlife is so plentiful that you can see wildlife off the side of a busy road is truly amazing and is one of the reasons I love Wyoming so much. For this reason, I would like to see upkeep of wildlife management, as well as progression with it and adaptations as needed, so I can still enjoy it in the year 2030.
Another aspect that I would like to see within Wyoming building up to the next nine years, would be providing better opportunities for the youth. Wyoming is not a very big state according to the number of people that live here, the population peaks at 581,075 as of this year. Many big cities in the U.S. have much over the number of people in a much smaller area. Clearly, Wyoming has a small population. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but I think one of the reasons Wyoming is such a small state is that a lot of youth that grows up here, end up leaving after college to get a job and pursue a career whether it’s in Colorado, Arizona, or someplace else. This is not to say that some youth don’t stay in Wyoming, but I do believe that one way we can provide better opportunities for youth would be by providing more job opportunities. To do this, we would probably have to see more businesses that make Wyoming their home. And through the school program create innovative thinkers who can introduce more innovative jobs.
Wyoming is definitely a tourist destination, consisting of several parks, geysers, hot springs, mountains, wildlife, and many outdoor activities and destinations that are awesome! One thing that I would like to remain in the year 2030 would be to keep tourism thriving which greatly affects Wyoming’s economy. Wyoming’s tourism presents many job opportunities and welcomes millions of people into Wyoming each year. Tourism allows for small businesses to thrive and succeed more and is a driving factor of Wyoming’s economy. Upkeeping and progressing the tourism industry could play a big role in Wyoming in nine years to come and by 2030, I could even imagine those numbers going up! Although tourism plays such a big role in our economy, having self-sufficient businesses would also be handy and could be improved upon for the future. Not having to rely on investments and loans but purely customers. In 2030 I would like to imagine seeing small businesses thriving more. Like any other state, there are small businesses that don’t do so well, in 2030 I would like to see fewer small businesses closing. For example, in my town, a lot of downtown is empty buildings where small businesses have opened and closed, and it is sad to see them close every time. By having more self-sufficient businesses in the next nine years we might be able to prevail against this problem and see a change in small businesses failing. Along with having more self-sufficient businesses having more diverse businesses could play a part in this as well. For example, there are probably 10 beauty salons in my town, which is not a bad thing, but having more variety in businesses all across Wyoming could benefit Wyoming’s economy in the future greatly and help small businesses as they try to stay afloat and well.
For years, ever since the first oil well was drilled in the year 1884 which lies close to Lander and is still active today, the oil and gas industry took lift-off and became increasingly popular after this. Oil and gas are heavily relied on also for the economy, supporting 28,270 jobs in Wyoming as of 2019, but the numbers have been declining since. The oil industry produced 102.16 million barrels of crude oil, and in 2020 declining to 89.02 million barrels of crude oil. The gas industry was also at 1.6 billion Mcf in 2019, then decreasing to 1.47 billion Mcf. Obviously, the numbers are declining, schools that are funded by the oil and gas industry have less of a budget, because of regulation and new policies. One of the reasons our teachers are paid so well and we have such a strong education in Wyoming is because of oil and gas and the money it is producing, but because this number is declining we need to find more diverse ways to help support the economy besides just relying on oil and gas. While still keeping oil and gas, I also think having more renewable energies such as solar and wind. Not too many people can argue that there isn’t wind always blowing in Wyoming, and most days the sun always shining! Along with this providing new business and even exporting more goods outside of the state and on a bigger scale the U.S. Also expanding our technology and advancing it, which is already happening in Cheyenne opening many job opportunities. Again, there is also expanding and progressing tourism more and more which is also a driving force of the economy of Wyoming. I am not saying that we drop oil and gas, but if we kept it and had another outside-of-the-box idea to also help support the economy, then we would have more to rely on and more support. I believe it could lessen budget cuts in schools and provide more of a backbone for the economy, which seems increasingly more possible, especially by 2030.
In 2030 I can imagine myself living in Wyoming with a good job where I can be outdoors. On the weekends during summer, I’ll be taking small road trips down to Yellowstone and seeing animals on the way. And during the winters heading up to a close ski resort to ski and snowboard with my friends. I will live in a small town where everyone knows each other and are friendly, honest, and helps others when needed. This community would be located in a beautiful spot where the mountains surround, and farms lie in the countryside. I imagine people having a good relationship with the wildlife, respecting them, and keeping their environments clean while still being able to hunt. I imagine being able to take in a big breath of fresh air, and they’re still not being much pollution in Wyoming, just crisp air. Along with the glassy lakes, I imagine seeing plentiful amounts of fish and a nonpolluted environment for this habitat too. The roads leading up to the mountains and lakes would be smooth and well taken care of, for the many tourists who would be coming in and out of Wyoming. I imagine the oil and gas industry is still in place, but now more windmills, solar panels, and clean renewable energy to rely on. I imagine what it would take to build this future, but nothing tough Wyoming can’t take. I first think that by holding true to Wyoming’s core values, such as integrity and responsiveness, Wyoming can remain and build on a place where people are truthful, sincere, and ready to take action. I also believe that another aspect that could build on my imagination of 2030 would be the upkeep of wildlife management and an ongoing progression and adaptations to it so that the beauty of wildlife can remain plentiful in Wyoming. Also providing better opportunities for youth, plays a part in my vision for 2030, making sure to have job opportunities for people when they graduate so that they stay in Wyoming instead of going to places like Colorado and Arizona. Another thing would be to keep tourism thriving, which is a driving factor of Wyoming’s economy, and to produce more self-sufficient and diverse businesses so as to slow down small businesses closing down in the next nine years. Also not just relying on oil and gas to support schools and communities but finding other diverse ways to help support the economy. Through doing all of this thing, I imagine a future attainable in my mind to a more tough and hardy Wyoming. A state where we aren’t branded as a same old, same old state, which is why in the next nine years I would like to see it as a more diversely enriched state which is open to new thoughts and ideas.
Works Cited
“Understanding Conservation.” National Wildlife Federation, www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Understanding-Conservation.
[EO1]This is Wyoming County, NY.