Hot button topics discussed at Joint Ag committee meeting

The Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee held a meeting at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center in Buffalo on Sept. 10-11.

The purpose of the two-day meeting was to continue the committee’s interim work and discuss several hot topics.

During the first day, discussions included updates on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory (WSVL), eminent domain and energy collector systems and the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP).

After the morning session concluded, the committee received a forest update during a private tour. 

Wild horse and burro update

To begin the opening day of meetings, BLM Associate State Director Kris Kirby and BLM Deputy State Director of Communications Brad Purdy updated the committee on the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Kirby reported there have been three wild horse gathers in Wyoming during 2024.

The agency conducted a wild horse bait trap gather operation in the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA), gathering 40 horses and returning the HMA to its appropriate management level of 140 horses.

In the North Lander Wild Horse Gather, completed in July, BLM gathered 2,577 animals, treating 58 mares with GonaCon and releasing about 118 animals back to the HMA area, bringing the current population to around 350 animals.

In the White Mountain HMA Wild Horse Gather, BLM collected 586 animals, bringing the population down to nearly 205 horses.

“BLM Wyoming has placed 335 animals into private care, and 5,055 animals are being cared for in off-range facilities,” Kirby said. “Each animal placed into private care saves the taxpayers approximately $22,500, which would be spent to provide lifetime care for the animal.”

Sen. Larry Hicks (R-H11) took the floor and thanked the BLM for their hard work but questioned the representatives on what BLM’s maintenance plan was for keeping the wild horse population within the appropriate management level.

“Unfortunately, at the moment, we are not funded for maintenance gatherings, but BLM is seeking additional funding for a national long-term gathering program,” Kirby mentioned. “Multiple state directors, along with the help of other individuals, are actively working to add more resources to the BLM toolbox, which would allow for more horses to be adopted and placed in private care while building additional holding facilities.”

Multiple questions from the Joint Ag Committee were raised about the methods used to gather accurate herd numbers and alternative fertility measures for reducing herd numbers.

RMP update

In regards to the Rock Springs RMP, Kirby noted BLM issued the final environmental impact statement (EIS) and proposed RMP for the Rock Springs Field Office on Aug. 23 and is currently in the process of completing the 30-day public protest and 60-day governor’s consistency review.

“Following a five-month public comment period, including work from the governor’s task force, the BLM made numerous changes between the draft and final versions of the RMP,” Kirby announced.

The draft RMP recommended 16 areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs), and the final EIS and proposed RMP would designate 12 ACECs, 10 previously existing and two new ACECs.

“BLM renamed the Greater Red Creek ACEC to the Little Mountain ACEC. While Sugarloaf Basin and Pine Mountain were considered for ACEC designation on the draft, those areas have been removed from the proposed RMP,” Kirby said. “The Little Mountain ACEC is proposed to be approximately 108,010 acres and a new special recreation management area.”

BLM is proposing to add the 2,000-acres Big Sandy Opening ACEC and the 281,000-acre South Wind River ACEC to protect significant historical value and propose to expand the existing Steamboat ACEC from 47,280 acres to just over 439,000 acres.

“The BLM is also proposing to eliminate the 2,500-acre Cedar Canyon ACEC due to the area being within the checkerboard. However, protection for rock art in the area remains in place,” she further noted. “The BLM responded to several comments regarding protections and ACEC nominations in the Red Desert Area, and the proposed RMP continues existing ACECs in the Red Desert such as Oregon Buttes, Greater Sand Dunes and South Pass Historical Landscape ACECs.”

Kirby continued, “The BLM is no longer proposing an ACEC to manage the migration corridor. Instead, they propose to follow the approach in the governor’s executive order for this state-designation corridor.”

She also gave the group a few updates on the proposed RMP mineral development and fielded numerous questions on the topic.

WSVL update

University of Wyoming (UW) College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources Interim Dean Kelly Crane updated the Joint Ag Committee on the progress the state laboratory has made with staffing issues, and WSVL Director Dr. Alexandra Brower discussed the recent anthrax outbreak in Carbon County. 

Crane reviewed the staffing issues WSVL has faced and the progress it has seen with the recent hiring of Brower and a new veterinary bacteriologist and virologist.

“UW offers a biocontainment facility (UWBF) which provides space for animal disease diagnosis and research involving federally-regulated microbes such as the bacterium causing brucellosis,” Crane stated. “We filled the Wyoming excellence chair position in March with Dr. David Pascal, a brucellosis expert who plans experimenting with brucella vaccines utilizing the UWBF.”

WSVL is also actively searching to fill the Riverbend Ranch chair in wildlife livestock health.

Multiple members of the committee asked Brower about preventative measures for addressing anthrax outbreaks, containment and ensuring the safety of livestock and wildlife.

Eminent domain update

Attorney Karen Budd-Falen shared insight on the review of the Legislative Service Office bill draft, 25LSO-0101.5, about eminent domain sponsored by the Joint Ag Committee.

The bill would limit an electric company’s ability to use eminent domain to condemn land for energy projects and provide more evident compensation standards for condemned property.

The legislation would give Wyoming landowners more leverage in negotiations with wind energy companies seeking to use their land.

Current law gives private entities the right to use eminent domain proceedings to condemn land for projects such as wind energy collector systems and transmission lines.

“Before issuing condemnation, a private entity must attempt to negotiate with a landowner,” Budd-Falen stated.

The proposed legislation would restrict a private wind farm’s ability to enforce eminent domain to use property it desires. 

The committee discussed loopholes in the bill and debated on various solutions, and Chairman John Eklund, Jr. (R-H10) agreed to table the bill and continue to work on it at a later date addressing the language in the bill.

The committee also discussed a second bill, 25LSO-0102.5, addressing eminent domain amendments which was moved unanimously.

Check out next week’s edition of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup for updates from the second day of the Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee meeting.

Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.