There’s been a fundamental shift regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for the Rock Springs area – this time, the feds will listen to what Wyoming has to say, a former high-ranking U.S. Interior Department official said.
“I think the new Interior secretary will be very respectful of Gov. (Mark) Gordon’s views on how to change the RMP and make it more suitable for Wyoming,” Rob Wallace told Cowboy State Daily.
“The RMP” refers to the BLM’s Rock Springs Management Plan – which many Wyomingites said was far too restrictive.
Gordon and others blasted the plan again when, in December, during the last days of former President Joe Biden’s administration, the Rock Springs RMP was finalized.
But President Donald Trump’s newly-appointed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced late Wednesday that the plan had been shut down for further review.
Burgum is likely to lend a sympathetic ear to Wyoming regarding the Rock Springs RMP, said Wallace, who worked previously with Burgum.
Wallace was the assistant secretary for the Interior, overseeing the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service under the first Trump Administration.
During that time, he worked with Burgum, who was then the governor of North Dakota.
Burgum’s views reflect those of many Wyoming residents, Wallace said.
“He’s a good guy. And another good thing, he’s very close to Gov. Gordon through the Western Governors Association,” Wallace added.
Under former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Gordon and others expressed frustration, claiming that federal officials were ignoring their concerns about the Rock Springs RMP.
Plan Likely To Be Revised, Not Eliminated
Regarding what the next steps might be with the RMP, Wallace said that it’s still too early to tell for certain.
But a likely scenario is that the plan will be given a “tune-up,” he said. That could include Burgum seeking more comment from Gordon, the Sweetwater County Commission and other interested parties, Wallace said.
It seems less likely that the RMP will be fully nullified by Congress, he added.
Gordon Optimistic
Gordon is optimistic that Burgum will set a better direction for the Rock Springs RMP, as well as other federal polices affecting Wyoming, governor’s office spokesman Michael Pearlman stated.
“Governor Gordon was thrilled to see the Rock Springs RMP, Buffalo RMPA, Sage Grouse planning effort, and BLM Conservation Rule and other recent federal overreach priorities that he specifically mentioned to Secretary Burgum be included in the recent Secretarial Order,” Pearlman wrote in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
“Right now, the review is within the current Department of Interior, and the Governor will be watching closely to provide input as the next steps become clear. Right now, it's just a little too early to know exactly what that process will look like,” Pearlman added.
Senators Sound Off
Wyoming’s Republican U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis were also hopeful.
Barrasso sees good times ahead for Wyoming’s energy industry.
“President Trump and Secretary Burgum are reversing the previous administration’s war on American energy. The misguided Rock Springs, Buffalo, and Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plans (RMP) must be rewritten,” Barrasso wrote in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
“Secretary Burgum’s quick executive action brings us one step closer to this goal. Together, we will make energy and mineral production in Wyoming and across our federal lands an urgent and top priority,” he added.
Lummis stated that Burgum’s move is a welcome change from Biden-era policies.
“For four years the Biden BLM used every tool in its chest to advance its land-grabbing agenda, Secretary Burgum’s actions are a welcomed and refreshing change. I have long maintained that Wyoming’s stakeholders and experts are far more qualified than Biden’s D.C. bureaucrats to make decisions on behalf of the Cowboy State, and I look forward to partnering with the Trump administration to restore the BLM to better serve its intended mission,” Lummis wrote in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
Many Said Plan Was Too Restrictive
Wyoming residents and elected officials have harshly criticized the Rock Springs RMP.
Republican Congresswoman Harriet Hagman slammed the RMP and other federal polices in a recent Cowboy State Daily guest column.
The BLM manages about 3.6 million acres of land from the Rock Springs office, the bulk of it in Sweetwater County. Alternative B would have designated 1.8 million acres, or about half, as “areas of critical environmental concern.”
Critics say that would have restricted public access in those areas for hunting, motorized recreation, cattle grazing and energy exploration.
Sweetwater county officials and residents worried that it would have devastating effects on the local economy – which relies heavily on energy and tourism.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
