After years of being drafted, then declared finished, then put on hold, the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial plan for managing millions of acres in central Wyoming is again open for public comment.
There’s reason to hope it will get done right this time, and the matter will finally be settled, Wyoming state Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, told Cowboy State Daily.
However, some environmental groups criticized the move to revise the plan yet again, saying it should remain as it is when the BLM finalized in December 2024.
The BLM announced its intent to amend the Rock Springs RMP and opening a 30-day comment period on Wednesday.
The BLM manages about 3.6 million acres of land from the Rock Springs office, the bulk of it in Sweetwater County. The agency’s preferred alternative for the plan Alternative B would have designated 1.8 million acres, or about half, as “areas of critical environmental concern” (ACECS).
That alternative drew fire from many in Sweetwater County and across Wyoming, who argued that it would be far too restrictive on energy development, cattle grazing and the like.
Gov. Mark Gordon and Wyoming’s Congressional delegation also opposed Alternative B. U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, also attempted to block the RMP though legislation.
Change In Administration Puts Plan On Hold
The BLM finalized the RMP, according to Alternative B, in December 2024 at the tail end of the Biden administration.
Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, the RMP was put on hold.
The call for a new round of revisions is in response to Trump’s executive orders aimed at ramping up the country’s energy industry, according to the BLM.
Reflecting What Wyoming Wants
Hicks said he’s optimistic that this time around, the RMP will be steered back toward its original intent, and in accordance with the wishes of most Wyomingites.
“I think there will be significant changes” resulting from the call for revision and public comments, he said.
The Biden-era Alternative B blindsided many “cooperators” who had put years of work into an RMP that matched Wyoming’s values, he said.
The cooperators included local and state officials and various stakeholders who worked with the BLM Rock Springs office to draw up a plan that “tried to strike a balance between conservation and multiple use,” he said.
Alternative B came down from the BLM’s top brass, pushing the plan in a direction that many felt was skewed toward “preservation,” rather than multiple use and prudent conservation, he said.
That would have been too restrictive, in an area where local economies rely heavily on energy, grazing and motorized access for hunting and tourism, he said.
Now there’s a good chance that the RMP will reflect the original intent of the cooperators, Hicks said.
“It’s going to look a lot like we already had before the Biden administration came in and derailed it, and made it heavily weighted toward preservation,” he said.
Gordon, State BLM Director Pleased
Revision of the RMP drew praise from Gordon and acting BLM Wyoming state director Kris Kirby on Thursday.
“It is good now to see the BLM’s amendment approach — including open public comment," Gordon said in a statement. "I am confident this process will provide opportunity to address drastic flaws without restarting this decade-long effort.
“I encourage everyone impacted by this RMP to participate and see this plan to its conclusion."
Kirby said that the revision “is about striking a better balance.”
“We are initiating a transparent public process to assess how we can support multiple-use management, meet current energy demands, and honor the unique ecological, cultural and recreational values of that make these lands unique,” Kriby said in a statement.
While the agency encourages people to comment on the revision, “BLM is unable to address those comments until the lapse in appropriations ends,” Kirby stated, in reference to the current federal government shutdown.
Environmentalists: Plan Should Be Left As It Was
Some environmental and conservation groups said that Alternative B reflects a fair balance, and the RMP should have gone forward in that form.
That version of the RMP had broad support, according to a statement from the Wilderness Society and other groups.
“The plan incorporates conservation measures supported by 92% of the public comments submitted on the draft plan, plus 85% of the recommendations made by a group of local community members that Governor Mark Gordon assembled to suggest improvements,” according to the statement.
“The Rock Springs RMP represents a forward-thinking approach to land-use planning — one shaped by science, local knowledge and extensive public feedback,” Julia Stuble, Wyoming state director for the Wilderness Society, said in the statement.
“The work behind it demonstrated what’s possible when the government listens to the people who know these lands best and operates in a balanced and transparent way. There is no reason to re-do a plan finalized less than a year ago, after decades of local input,” she added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
