Inside Yellowstone National Park’s historic gift from data center developers
Tallgrass, a Blackstone-owned energy company developing a major AI data center near Cheyenne with Google, donated $105 million to Yellowstone National Park. The gift is drawing criticism from residents and environmental advocates who question whether it is intended to improve the companies’ public image while nearby data centers create noise, light, water, pollution and electricity concerns.
Tallgrass, a Blackstone portfolio company developing a 2.7-gigawatt AI data center near Cheyenne with Google, announced a $105 million donation to Yellowstone National Park through Yellowstone Forever. Officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, described the contribution as the largest private gift in National Park Service history and said it would support conservation research, visitor education and public access programs.
The donation has prompted scrutiny because Tallgrass and other developers are helping drive rapid data-center growth in southeast Wyoming. Residents living near data-center facilities, including Microsoft’s AI campus south of Cheyenne, reported persistent noise, nighttime lighting and concerns about electricity costs, water use and environmental impacts. Critics characterized the donation as an effort to win goodwill, while Yellowstone Forever defended the gift as supporting mission-aligned programs and Tallgrass said its investments benefit Wyoming communities and the state economy.