Sweetwater County officials remain hopeful that a controversial Bureau of Land Management land-use plan can be changed more to their liking, even as Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Harriet Hageman joined a push to revise BLM plans across the West.
Hageman joined the sponsors of H.R. 1997, the Productive Public Lands Act – which was introduced to the U.S. House by Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd.
H.R. 1997 calls for a revision and reissue of nine Biden-era BLM resource management plans (RMPs) – including those issued through the agency’s field offices in Rock Springs and Buffalo.
Rock Springs Plan Still Being Re-Worked
“The Productive Public Lands Act will reverse the multiple Biden-era RMPs, such as those in the Buffalo and Rock Springs districts, that significantly limit multiple use on federal lands,” according to a statement sent to Cowboy State Daily from Hageman’s office.
“This bill reaffirms the Bureau of Land Management’s statutory obligation to balance energy, grazing, mining, timber, and recreation and rejects efforts to constrain productive use of the lands. I am proud to work with my fellow leaders of the Western Caucus to ensure the local and state voices we represent play a leading role in resource stewardship and reopens these areas to sustainable use of our natural resources,” Hageman added.
Sweetwater County Commissioner Taylor Jones said that county officials recently met with Hageman. But it wasn’t yet clear if and how H.R. 1997 might affect an ongoing revision of the BLM’s Rock Springs RMP.
From the county’s perspective, it would be best to revise that RMP, but not completely scrap it, Jones said.
“Starting over could take who knows how many years. Scrapping the whole plan is really not a good option,” he said.
Rock Springs Plan Halted In Its Tracks
The BLM manages about 3.6 million acres of land from the Rock Springs office, the bulk of it in Sweetwater County. The BLM’s preferred Alternative B would have designated 1.8 million acres, or about half, as “areas of critical environmental concern.”
Critics said that would have restricted public access in those areas for hunting, motorized recreation, cattle grazing and energy exploration.
The Alternative B plan seemed all but certain to go through, as it received final clearance at the tail-end of the Biden Administration.
However, President Donald Trump’s newly-appointed Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum in February announced that the Rock Springs RMP was among plans that had been shut down for further review.
That review process is still underway, Jones said. Ideally, the RMP could be relaunched under what’s called Alternative D, he said.
That alternative strikes a better balance between conservation, public recreation, livestock grazing and energy extraction, Jones said.
Greater Little Mountain Likely To Remain Untouched
One part of the Rock Springs region that will likely remain untouched is the Greater Little Mountain Area – which makes up about 15% of the land in question.
A broad base of interest groups support leaving that area preserved in its natural state – including hunters, ranchers and energy companies.
And regardless of what happens in Congress or with the Rock Springs RMP, that will likely remain the case, Jones said.
“I don’t see where that would change. There’s nothing too desirable there (Greater Little Mountain) except outdoor recreation,” he said.
Supports Big-Picture Revision
Jones said he supports the thinking behind the Productive Public Lands Act.
“I think it’s good that we revisit these things. I think it’s imperative that we go back and revisit all of these RMPs,” he said.
Gov. Mark Gordon was an outspoken critic of the BLM’s Alternative B for the Rock Springs area – arguing that it was too restrictive to fit Wyoming’s best interests.
Regarding the Productive Public Lands Act, Michael Pearlman, spokesman for Gordon’s office, told Cowboy State Daily that “we are still digesting the details of this proposed Legislation.”
