October 20, 2023 |
PHOTO – Rock Springs BLM Field Office sign – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Bureau of Land Management has extended the current comment period on its controversial Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement in the Rock Springs area.
The BLM has granted an additional 60 days for public comment. The new deadline has been moved from the end of October to January 17, 2024.
Governor Mark Gordon said yesterday that he welcomes the agency’s decision as well as what he said in a statement was the agency’s apparent willingness “to work with Wyoming people.”
The governor also said that “the current preferred alternative is unacceptable,” echoing the position taken last week by the Legislature’s Federal Resource Natural Resource Management Committee.
Senator John Kolb of Sweetwater County was among those leading the charge against the BLM at last week’s meeting in Cheyenne. BLM representatives at the hearing could not answer the question.
The BLM denied a unified request for a withdrawal of the proposed EIS made by the Governor, Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation in Washington, the Wyoming County Commissioners and Wyoming industries.
The Governor said in an email sent Thursday that the BLM’s preferred alternative “came as a surprise.” He added that the extension announced this week “will allow Wyoming citizens additional opportunities for engagement in this important process.”
The BLM is obligated to review and consider all comments before making a final decision on the final EIS and eventually Record of Decision for the management plan. The draft RMP and information on how to comment can be found on the following link: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/13853/510.
