 The same topography that put Wyoming on the map—South Pass and the Platte River trails—also makes Wyoming a prime location for a rapidly developing alternative energy source, namely wind power. The mountain men, wagon trains, pony express, and railroads all use southern Wyoming as a route west because there is a natural gap in the Rocky Mountains. That same gap forms a giant wind tunnel, channeling the prevailing westerly winds along the Interstate 80 corridor and through the Red Butte's Gap west of Casper and on to Wyoming's eastern plains. Wyoming has a long history of using wind energy to pump water for livestock, wildlife, and people. Now the technology is available to use wind to generate electricity on a very large scale. Wind power is a clean and infinitely renewable resource that could reduce the need for non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels. Wind farms like this already exist in the cowboy state and will certainly become more common. We may curse the wind at times, but it is one of Wyoming's great energy resources. I'm Gene Gayde of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service.