September 25, 2023 |
Photo – BLM’s High Desert District Rock Springs Field Office – Courtesy blm.gov
Sweetwater County officials are urging the public to stand up against BLM’s Alternative B land use plan that the agency’s radical leadership in Washington will use to limit land use.
The location of Wednesday’s meeting has changed as officials brace for a big turnout.
The public hearing regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan will be held at the Holiday Inn ballroom in Rock Springs on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 3- 6 p.m. One Sweetwater County Commissioner, Dr. Mary Thoman, urged the public to attend and “ask to see the maps and see how it will affect your life, your access, your jobs and your future.”
During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, many county and statewide lawmakers mentioned a letter will be sent in support of an extension of the 90-day public comment period, which began on Aug. 18 and is scheduled to end on Nov. 16 of this year.
State lawmaker Cody Wylie of District 39 said a letter is being drafted requesting that the public comment period be extended. The letter will be signed by the Wyoming Speaker of the House and Senate President.
Wylie said the Wyoming Legislature has received widespread, multi-county support for its request as Wyoming residents grow increasingly alarmed about the radicalization of the federal agency under its current leadership.
Commissioner Dr. Mary Thoman pointed out that the commission has cooperating agency status, meaning that they are “the voice of the people at the table during the planning process before these plans go public.”
Thoman said the federal agency has side-stepped local leaders in their rush to set federal lands off-limits. Thoman said the important questions for the public are “How is this going to affect my job? How is this going affect my hunting and fishing access?”
Mineral industries will be impacted under the BLM’s preferred plan.
Alternative A is the “no action” alternative, which would be a continuation of the existing 1997 Green River Resource Management Plan.
Alternative B, Washington’s preferred plan, emphasizes “very restrictive” resource conservation with constraints, and is the “Agency Preferred Alternative.”
Alternative C emphasizes resource use and of the four, proposes the least restrictive management actions for energy and commodity development.
Alternative D sits somewhere in the middle of B and C — it’s less restrictive on resource use than Alternative B while also having a greater conservation focus than Alternative C.
The big concern is that the plan preferred by the BLM’s radical leadership in Washington, D.C., will result in fewer jobs for Wyoming residents in Sweetwater County.
Because of the large turnout expected, this week’s meeting has been moved to the Holiday Inn ballroom in Rock Springs on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 3- 6 p.m.
