Why are minerals and energy important to Wyoming?
Though Wyoming has the smallest population of any state, we’re a top supplier of energy and other mineral resources to the rest of the nation.
Oil, gas, and mining
have all been important in Wyoming for more than 130 years—
and almost all Wyoming citizens are connected to these industries in some way, whether they work in the industry themselves or know someone who does.
Historically, Wyoming’s mineral and energy industries have been major contributors to both employment and revenue in our state. Our abundance of nonrenewable energy resources—including coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium—has created many high-paying jobs for Wyomingites in the extraction industry, and taxes paid by the natural gas and coal industries help fund infrastructures, like schools and roads.
Through the Minerals and Energy unit of the Wyoming Stewardship Project, our goal is to provide Wyoming youth with the knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to become informed, responsible stewards of an important industry we rely on every day.
Each year, the Wyoming Stewardship Project has the potential to impact as many as 26,000 students statewide in grades 2-5—and with the program already incorporated in classrooms across nearly every Wyoming county, we’re well on our way there!
Download Lessons:
Learn more about our other programs:
Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
In this unit, students get to explore our state’s unique lands, public spaces, and historic sites; learn about Wyoming plants, wildlife, and recreation; and meet real-life stewards of Wyoming’s outdoor recreation and tourism industry.
Agriculture
Exploring the “what, where, and why” of Wyoming agriculture, students learn about Wyoming farms and Wyoming’s livestock industry; discuss the different ways farmers and ranchers practice stewardship; and are challenged to think about Wyoming agriculture through scientific, cultural, and economic lenses.
Making a difference
for Wyoming’s youth starts with you.
We’re working to ensure that future generations of our state’s leaders, critical thinkers, and problem solvers become stewards for our state—and it’s only with your support that we can make it happen!