Boulder is only about 10-15 miles down the road from Pinedale. Both are in a plain where they've found a huge natural gas deposit. The local governments are in a tight spot because they have conflicting interests in their residents and the gas companies.
The property owners only own the surface of the land, but the U.S. government has the right to grant leases for the mineral rights and the land owner has little to no recourse for the damage that can be done to their land, their livestock, their crops, irrigation, etc. There are tons of other issues that come with the drilling.......
Pinedale provides cautionary tale for Colorado communities : Oil and Gas : The Rocky Mountain News