The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft plan to guide the direction of millions of acres in the Rock Springs, WY, area for multiple uses and the possible expansion of conservation areas.
The BLM Rock Springs Field Office released a draft resource management plan (RMP) and draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for approximately 3.6 million acres of BLM lands and 3.7 million acres of mineral lands in five counties in southwestern Wyoming.
The draft RMP/EIS covers a multitude of uses in the area, including energy development, livestock grazing, wild horse management, cultural resources and wildlife habitat management.
This includes the probable designation of 1.6 million acres of surface land as areas of critical environmental concern (ACEC).
BLM defines an ACEC as “areas within the public lands where special management attention is required to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources, or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from natural hazards.”
The draft provides four alternatives differing in degree of preservation and multiple uses. BLM’s preferred alternative (Alternative B) conserves the most area for physical, biological and cultural resources. The alternative allocates over 1.6 million acres as an ACEC and divides over 63,000 acres into nine inventory units to protect wilderness characteristics. It would close off almost 2 million acres for mineral development and over 5 million acres for coal and oil shale. Over 3.5 million acres would be available for livestock grazing and 8,576 acres unavailable.
Currently, there are 79 grazing allotments with 304,259 animal unit months (AUMs) per year on approximately 5.2 million acres. However, actual use has been less than 200,000 AUMs.
The draft RMP/EIS states grazing opportunities would be provided and improved to meet the Wyoming Land Health Standards under all the alternatives. Beginning in 1998 , the BLM started assessing grazing allotments for adherence to the approved Wyoming Standards for Healthy Rangelands and Guidelines. Total livestock use under the preferred alternative would be on a case-by-case basis if the health standards were met. If health standards are not met and livestock grazing management is determined to be a factor, the agency would implement a 20% reduction annually from the 10-year average.
The following are other alternatives being considered:
• The “no action” alternative would be a continuation of the 1997 Green River RMP, balancing the protection of resource values with the development of resources.
• Alternative C would emphasize resource development with few restrictions on energy and mineral development and is the least protective management action for physical, biological and cultural resources.
• Alternative D combines elements of BLM’s preferred alternative and alternative C. It is less restrictive on resource uses than alternative B, but contains more conservation than alternative C.
Reactions
Lawmakers expressed disapproval of the proposal and called it a land grab.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) said he is not surprised at the direction the Biden administration is taking with this draft and will look at it thoroughly.
“I know I am not alone in my desire to review this draft with a fine-tooth comb,” Gordon said in a statement. “I will protect the interests of the state of Wyoming and make sure they pay attention to the good work being done at the state and local level as we move ahead.”
Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said the proposal is an effort by the Biden administration to lock up more federal land and ignores the work previously done by stakeholders.
“The Biden administration’s proposal to lock up even more federal lands willfully ignores more than a decade of thoughtful systems designed by local experts and Wyoming-based stakeholders at our state’s expense,” said Lummis. “While I am not surprised by this misguided decision, I am disappointed this administration is prioritizing unnecessary red tape over well-designed policies established by our experts on the ground.”
According to a letter by a coalition of sportsmen groups, comments were submitted in 2010 under a scoping phase to rewrite the Green River RMP. A second letter was submitted in 2015 and again in 2019 detailing recommendations for six priority habitats “that are of considerable importance from a biological and recreational standpoint.”
The 44-page letter details recommendations for the six significant habitats for big game, sage grouse, Colorado River Cutthroat Trout and many other Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
“Overall, these landscapes deserve strong management that maintains and/or enhances their contiguous, intact habitat, which means limiting surface disturbance to avoid fragmentation and vegetation removal,” the letter stated.
Public comments
According to BLM, the agency will host multiple public and/or virtual meetings on the Rock Springs Draft RMP/EIS during the public comment period in Rock Springs, Lyman and Big Piney. The specific dates, times and locations of these public meetings will be announced through public notices, press releases, official social media announcements and mailings.
The RMP documents are available for public review on at tinyurl.com/5dtu9a2u. The comment period ends Nov. 16. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
