The Jonah Natural Gas Field is an area of west central Wyoming, south of the town of Pinedale, in the Upper Green River Basin. Jonah’s 30,000 acres of rolling sagebrush are 94 percent federally owned. The area has one of the richest concentrations of natural gas in the United States, estimated at more than 14 trillion cubic feet.

The Jonah Infill Drilling Project (JIDP) is expected to produce nearly 8 TCF of natural gas over the 76-year life of the project, enough to heat 4.8 million homes for 20 years. Total economic activity from natural gas and oil production would be approximately $30.5 billion. Under the Jonah Record of Decision (ROD), taxes and federal royalties are estimated at $6.1 billion. The royalty would be equally split between the State of Wyoming and the federal treasury.

The Jonah ROD limits the amount of total surface disturbance at any given time to 46 percent (14,030 acres) of the field (30,500 acres). However, reclaimed acreage will be credited toward available surface disturbance limits, up to a maximum cumulative surface disturbance of 20,300 acres. Mitigation measures both within and near the Jonah Project area will help protect and/or improve other natural resources like wildlife habitat, water and air quality, and livestock forage.

The Jonah Field contains one of the most concentrated reserves of natural gas in the U.S. The current FEIS/ROD maximizes recovery of this resource while minimizing impacts to other natural resources through innovative off-site mitigation, on-site monitoring and a decision that encourages industry to minimize development’s footprint while maximizing interim reclamation.