The Wyoming Game and Fish Department awarded Williams with its Industry Wildlife Stewardship Award in recognition of our positive impact on wildlife and habitat in the state.

The award was presented at the Game and Fish Commission’s April 22 meeting, which was attended by several Williams employees, including Chad Teply, senior vice president, Project Execution.

“It is important for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to recognize industry partners who strive to be responsible stewards of our natural resources and Wyoming’s wildlife,” said Brian Nesvik, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

“Williams’ commitment to wildlife extends beyond their own footprint by repeatedly inquiring about avenues to donate to other programs for Game and Fish and the State of Wyoming that support wildlife,” he said.

Teply said environmental stewardship is core to Williams’ operations and support.

“Driving the clean energy economy includes preserving the environment for future generations while improving standards of living today,” he said. “We look forward to continuing our work with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department this coming year and beyond. I applaud our employees for their commitment and dedication to protecting the areas in which they live and work.”

Williams has provided financial support for projects through the WYldlife Fund for projects to create wildlife crossings that increase public safety, for environmental curriculum, and access for fishing and hunting. Additionally, employees volunteer at youth camps and last fall donated supplies and labor to help plant 1,500 sagebrush seedlings on the Chain Lakes Wildlife Habitat Management Area.

Employees spent eight hours in blustery conditions with 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts, assisting Game and Fish staff in planting seedlings.

“Williams’ folks stayed until the last seedling was in the ground and asked when they could help again,” said Amanda Losch, supervisor of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department habitat protection program.

Losch said Williams also works carefully with the department for project siting to

enact wildlife-friendly practices for natural gas delivery, particularly to reduce disturbance and impacts to habitat in Wyoming’s sensitive sagebrush steppe.

Williams employee Kristy Stoll, who accepted the award during the board meeting, said she and her colleagues are eager to volunteer and support efforts to be good environmental stewards.

“Wyoming isn’t just where we work,” said Stoll, a land rep. “It’s where many of us live, and where we have the opportunity to leverage our resources to benefit and to help protect Wyoming’s open spaces and wildlife.”

Williams has more than 160 employees in Wyoming, maintaining nearly 5,000 miles of pipeline and three compressor facilities. The company operates district offices in Opal, Wamsutter, Green River, Big Piney and Kemmerer.