LA BARGE — The WYldlife Fund, a charitable nonprofit partner of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, announced a generous gift of $10,000 from SOS Well Services to support the South Kemmerer Highway 189 Wildlife Crossing Project.
In 2019, SOS built a “wildlife conservation rig” promising a portion of profits to highway crossings around the state.  In order to make this happen SOS teamed up with the largest natural gas provider in the state of Wyoming, PureWest.  

“Our goal is to make the roadways safer for families traveling them daily and to make a true impact for our wildlife and we believe this gift will do just that,” stated Zach Key, area manager of SOS Well Services. 

“At PureWest, we work hard to protect and preserve the habitats of the wildlife that live in or pass through our state while producing the energy we all need,” said Sam White, PureWest well intervention manager. “We are proud to play a small part in ensuring our roadways also include safe passage for Wyoming’s diverse wildlife population.”

“SOS and PureWest are perfect examples of how partners in the gas and oil sector step up to support wildlife time and time again,” said WYldlife Fund President Chris McBarnes. “We appreciate their leading by example and commitment to helping save wildlife and improving safety on Wyoming’s roadways. Thank you to hardworking employees of SOS who have made this gift possible.”

More than 6,000 big game animals die each year from collisions with vehicles on Wyoming’s highways and interstates. The vast majority of reported collisions involve mule deer. At the current rate, there are 21 big game collisions every day in Wyoming, eight of which involve significant damage to vehicles and/or human injury. The total cost of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Wyoming averages about $55 million per year. 

The Wyoming Department of Transportation and Wyoming Game and Fish have documented significant wildlife-vehicle collisions with mule deer and pronghorn along a 28-mile stretch of Highway 189 in southwest Wyoming, from mile marker 0 to 30. This project will reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and promote habitat connectivity for big game by directing animals to existing and new wildlife-crossing structures. The total cost estimate of this project is over $23 million and includes replacing existing fences and the construction of five underpasses and one overpass.

“SOS Well Services is proud to partner with PureWest Energy and the WYldlife Fund to make Wyoming highways safer for our motoring public and wildlife. With the Dry Piney Highway 189 wildlife-crossing project scheduled for completion in October, these dollars are vastly important to get the Kemmerer Highway 189 wildlife-crossing project underway. With completion of these two projects the world class Wyoming Range Mule Deer will have maximum protection from vehicle strikes while on their ancestral ranges. We are proud to be a part of this effort,” said Mike Schmid, president and CEO of SOS Well Services.

SOS Well Services is a privately held company headquartered in La Barge, Wyoming, with a location in Douglas, Wyoming, and Kimball, Nebraska. Michael Schmid, who has more than 30 years of experience in oilfield services, founded the company. The current management team, including regional superintendents, has over 150 years of oilfield services expertise and extensive operating experience in the western United States.