BLM issues final RMP and EIS for Rock Springs Field Office
A little over a year has gone by since the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the draft resource management plan (RMP) and environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Rock Springs Field Office (RSFO), outlining the management of more than 3.6 million acres of public lands and 3.5 million acres of public subsurface minerals in Southwest Wyoming.
The announcement caused an uproar across the Cowboy State and most of the West, raising concerns among public lands recreators, grazing and natural resources lessees and others worried about restrictions outlined in the plan.
Published on Aug. 18, 2023, the draft RMP and EIS initiated a 90-day public comment period, which was extended for an additional 62 days upon aggressive urging from several agencies and local stakeholders.
During this time, BLM held three in-person public meetings in Sweetwater County and Gov. Mark Gordon appointed a task force composed of representatives from local government, industries, sportsmen, conservation groups, etc. to develop recommendations on the draft plan.
Final RMP and EIS
On Aug. 22, BLM Wyoming issued the final RMP and EIS for the RSFO.
According to the agency’s press release announcement, the proposed plan would replace and rename the existing 26-year-old Green River RMP, while providing “an updated, comprehensive framework for managing and allocating the uses of public lands and resources so BLM can meet its multiple-use mission to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of public lands for present and future generations.”
BLM notes the final proposed plan reflects components of alternatives originally outlined in the draft RMP and EIS, as well as input from the public, the Governor’s Task Force and the Greater Little Mountain Coalition, an organization that has been in support of the RMP since its initial announcement.
“The proposed plan provides for a balance of opportunities to use and develop public land resources within the planning area, while conserving the area’s cultural, scenic and natural heritage,” reads the press release. “The proposed RMP provides for the continued multiple uses of public lands in the RSFO while addressing growing pressures from increased visitation and a changing climate.”
A notice of availability was published in the Aug. 23 Federal Register, marking the start of a 30-day protest period and the concurrent 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review. These are some of the final steps before a record of decision is signed and the RMP becomes final.
Statewide disappointment
Again, BLM’s proposed plan has sparked outrage in Wyoming, and immediately following BLM’s press release, Gordon published a statement expressing his disappointment with the agency.
“Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the final EIS for the proposed Rock Springs RMP does not meet Wyoming’s expectations of durable, multiple use of public lands,” Gordon says. “One-quarter of the RSFO remains slated for area of critical environmental concern designation. State agencies and I are still sifting through the details and looking at specific maps, management actions and stipulations.”
Despite this, the governor thanked all of those involved in submitting comments and concerns over the past year.
“Thank you to everyone in Southwest Wyoming who participated in the comment process and the Governor’s Task Force,” he says. “Your comments and recommendations helped claw this document away from the BLM’s preferred, absolutely unworkable Alternative B.”
“A cursory review makes it clear where the BLM considered local and cooperative input and where the agency chose to force through national agendas,” he adds. “It is important to compare this document to the current status on the ground and not by how much it has shifted away from the BLM’s worst-case scenario.”
“Much work is left to ensure the BLM is staying within the bounds of state and county policies, as well as federal law. Additionally, we await further information to see how this RMP overlaps with the announcement of the sage grouse management plan amendment and BLM implementation of their recent Public Lands Rule,” Gordon continues.
“I will examine the final EIS closely, but make no mistake, the state of Wyoming will be filing protests where our comments were disregarded,” the governor concludes. “I will continue to identify any management decisions inconsistent with Wyoming law and policy in my upcoming consistency review.”
U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso (both R-WY) also published statements in response to the BLM’s Rock Springs RMP, deeming the plan “misguided.”
“The Biden-Harris administration is pushing Wyoming off of an economic cliff with nothing more than a tattered parachute,” says Barrasso. “The Rock Springs RMP strangles responsible natural resource development.”
“This plan isn’t designed to manage Wyoming’s natural resources. It is designed to suffocate them. While I’m grateful for the efforts of those on the ground in Wyoming who worked to improve the original proposal, the plan unveiled today directly jeopardizes Wyoming’s economy and our way of life,” he adds.
Lummis comments, “The Biden-Harris administration has made it abundantly clear it is far more focused on appealing to radical environmentalists than supporting Western communities. The BLM’s recently announced Rock Springs RMP is only the latest in a series of land grabs punishing Wyoming and the entire West.”
“Locking up lands in Southwest Wyoming will deliver a seismic blow to Wyoming’s economy, devastating our communities and further emboldening unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. to prioritize political pandering over the economic and environmental stability of the region,” Lummis continues. “In brazenly bypassing over a decade’s worth of knowledge from local experts and stakeholders, this administration not only punishes the state of Wyoming but jeopardizes America’s energy independence and our national security.”
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
