Covering 19,375 square miles (12.4 million acres), the six counties of the RC&D are bordered to the west by the Big Horn Mountains and in the east by the Black Hills. Most of the land in Northeastern Wyoming is used for livestock grazing. The RC&D contains over 1.5 million acres of Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pine commercial forestlands. The area is rich in both natural and cultural resources.

The region was once home to sheepherders and cattle barons; renegades and rustlers; and was where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid holed up after their outlaw exploits. The RC&D stretches across the rolling plains of the old west from the Big Horns eastward toward Americas first National Monument, Devils Tower; an unmistakable and unique beacon attracting people and capturing imaginations since prehistoric times. To the Southeast lays Niobrara County, bursting with life for over 100 years at the crossroads of the famous Cheyenne, Black Hills and Texas Trails.

Among its many assets, the RC&D is home to the most vibrant energy sector in America. The Powder River Basin coalfields in Campbell County, famous for their low-sulfur composition coal, export over one-million tons of coal every day from eleven operating mines and produce about half of the nation’s coal supply. In addition, the region exports about one billion cubic-feet of Coal Bed Methane Natural Gas (CBM) every day through pipeline networks. Biofuels are another expanding multi-use energy source for Northeastern Wyoming. Biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol plants are under construction and the RC&D has a major initiative to promote consumer access to ethanol fuels like E85.

This vast land of wide-open spaces, fresh air, hospitality, and an indomitable spirit, calls for a constant diligence to manage its boundless resources. The RC&D and its neighbors are dedicated to this goal and will work tirelessly with our Wyoming friends to keep this a great place to live.