The Bureau of Land Management will “work together” with Wyoming and others to finalize a plan for future uses of 3.7 million acres of federal public land in the Rock Springs area, agency Director Tracy Stone-Manning said Thursday.
Stone-Manning extended the deadline for public comments on the agency’s draft Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, draft environmental impact statement and proposed “areas of critical environmental concern” by 60 days to Jan. 17, 2024. The plan seeks “a balance of opportunities” to use and develop public resources “while promoting environmental conservation.” The final plan will guide management of a Connecticut-sized swath of southwest Wyoming for years.
Gov. Mark Gordon blasted the draft, which is driven by conservation priorities, and called for its withdrawal. Others believe environmental constraints would be ruinous for the state. But conservationists heralded a balance they say hasn’t been on the agency’s agenda before now.
What they said
“A lot of work happens between a draft plan and a final plan, and that work is best informed by people who roll up their sleeves to work together,” Stone-Manning said in a statement. “We are committed to doing that work to finalize the final plan.”
Gordon is “disappointed” that the agency didn’t withdraw the draft proposal, according to a statement from his office. Nevertheless, “this extension will allow Wyoming citizens additional opportunities for engagement in this important process,” his statement said.
Gordon directed the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute to hold workshops on the plan and said the BLM agreed to participate.
The Wilderness Society is pleased to see productive engagement from Wyoming’s elected leaders “after weeks of insults and inflammatory rhetoric” about the draft document, Wyoming Senior Manager Julia Stuble said in a statement. The extension will allow the BLM to engage tribal nations for “government-to-government consultation,” she said.
What’s at stake
At issue is what weight the federal agency will give to Wyoming’s desire for continued liberal access to grazing, oil and gas development, motorized recreation and other similar uses. In a state where about 48% of the land is managed by the federal government, some residents and state politicians feel hamstrung by its largest landlord.
The BLM manages the 3.7 million acres covered by the plan — and a total 18.4 million acres statewide — for all 333 million Americans. Wyoming’s population of 581,381 amounts to less than two tenths of a percent of the country’s total headcount.
Resources
Below are links to some WyoFile news reports and opinion pieces published about the draft Rock Springs area Resource Management Plan revision.
BLM releases long-awaited management plan for Red Desert region
by Katie Klingsporn
Misinformation, hysteria dominate response to BLM’s plan for SW Wyoming
by Mike Koshmrl
‘Conservation’ proposal for SW Wyoming would limit large energy projects
by Dustin Bleizeffer
BLM’s new management plan balances conservation, energy extraction
Opinion by Sadie Valdez
BLM’s plan for SW Wyoming protects wildlife, preserves our way of life
Opinion by Dan Stroud
Freedom Caucus wages another deliberate campaign of misinformation
Opinion by Kerry Drake
Rock Springs RMP Revision e-planning portal
Read the plan and comment on it
I’m only a first generation Wyomingite, but I’m all in on what fourth gen Wyomingite Coleen C said. Worth repeating:
as a fourth generation wyoming citizen, and as a teenager, the red desert showed me elk grazing off the top of steamboat mountain into killpecker dunes for water, baby owls in the aspen grove around the horse camp on its north side; ancient pictographs of indigenous people and bobcats on the flanks of boars tusk. cherished experiences. the plight of our earth 50 years later should teach us the value of biodiversity and intact lands. the blm recognizes these values in its current preferred alternative. and yes our state can and does make a sustainable living off beauty and biodiversity. thank you wyofile for this ongoing coverage; and thanks to blm for extending the comment deadline.
It looks like Wyofile only has op-eds supportive of the proposed direction and calls the concerns of some people “misinformation”. I think you all at Wyofile could do a better job of helping understand the differing points of view.
The important aspect of what I come to see about WYOFILE is they do what you are asking in follow-up articles and I believe they do this because of their awsome journalism “experience” and patience so they do not get what I call suckered into “A NEWS STORY” of someone else’s agenda because their FIRST AMENDMENT activities ARE for that reason and we benifit from it because of their experiences and patience because “we” all know a story can do a180° turn and ALL the suckers are just that. Stick around you’ll see what I’m talking about we all may not agree but that’s the AWESOMENESS of the FIRST AMENDMENT!
Dear Wyoming politicians: I found this quote (along with a brief explanation on dictionary.com) from a book I read during jr high school in the mid-60s: “All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.” Explanation: “A proclamation by the pigs who control the government in the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell. The sentence is a comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but give power and privileges to a small elite.”
Of course BLM manages public lands for all Americans, but BLM’s foundational law, the Federal Land Policy Management Act ( FLPMA) provides an enhanced role for state, tribal and local governments in planning. BLM has the final decision, but input from state, tribal and local governments is privileged. FLPMA directs BLM, in its planning decisions, to “coordinate” with state and tribal land use plans and provide for “meaningful public involvement of state and local government officials.” “Such officials in each state are authorized to furnish advice to the Secretary with respect to the development and revision of land use plans, land use guidelines, land use rules, and land use regulations for the public lands within such State…” 43 USC 1712 (c)(9). The National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA), with which BLM must comply when doing a land use plan, provides state, tribal and local governments with a “cooperating agency” role, allowing these governments to work together with BLM in developing the draft land use plan. Land use planning is not a “numbers” game, FLPMA provides that state, local and tribal perspectives need to be sought out and carefully considered by BLM.
Hmmm . . . managed for 331 million Americans, but no one can use it. Reminds me of a cat who was alive and dead at the same time.
Everyone can use it. Try to be honest.
Mmm. Managed for 331 million people vs……….600000 Wyoming citizens. Don’t forget who owns this land.
Thanks for the heads-up on this Angus.
The older Upper Green BLM RMP took effort
to re-identify high quality wildlife areas for protection,
such as the ACEC on the Kettleponds area NE of Cora.
Data and photos always help establish value.
Shout out for Dan Stroud’s post earlier on the draft RMP.
This may perhaps be misinformation construed by both parties, however BLM seriously needs to take in consideration the way people in Wyoming have lived since it became a State. Instead of flexing their muscles by telling micromanaging wide open spaces that Wyoming people have relished for centuries.
as a fourth generation wyoming citizen, and as a teenager, the red desert showed me elk grazing off the top of steamboat mountain into killpecker dunes for water, baby owls in the aspen grove around the horse camp on its north side; ancient pictographs of indigenous people and bobcats on the flanks of boars tusk. cherished experiences. the plight of our earth 50 years later should teach us the value of biodiversity and intact lands. the blm recognizes these values in its current preferred alternative. and yes our state can and does make a sustainable living off beauty and biodiversity. thank you wyofile for this ongoing coverage; and thanks to blm for extending the comment deadline.