April 24, 2023 |
Photo – Marton Ranch in Natrona County – Courtesy farmandranch.com
Governor Mark Gordon is encouraging Wyoming citizens to provide comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s preliminary environmental assessment (EA) that provides supplemental analysis to the Marton Ranch Acquisition EA.
The BLM Casper Field Office released its supplemental analysis of the purchase this past Friday and announced a 21-day public comment period, closing Friday, May 12, 2023.
The Governor’s public criticism of the federal agency’s handling of the purchase last year forced the current public comment period, which would not have occurred otherwise.
The BLM issued the original Marton Ranch EA and its largely hushed-up purchase of Marton’s river-front property in Natrona County last May.
The State of Wyoming quickly appealed the BLM’s decision with the Interior Board of Land Appeals. The IBLA agreed with Wyoming and ordered the current public comment period.
The new agreement follows last year’s off-the-radar federal purchase of the 35,670-acre Marton Ranch. Wyoming appealed the decision. A settlement was reached in October requiring the current public comment period.
The Governor said in a statement that he opposed the largely secretive process the BLM used to seal the deal, not the deal itself. “Meaningful public input and environmental analysis are critical steps in any federal land acquisition process, and this public comment period is necessary to fulfill the agreement between the BLM and the State of Wyoming,”
The BLM’s acting Casper Field Office Manager, Ben Bigalke, said the federal agency is “looking for comments specific to the additional analysis and potential impacts that could result from the property changing from private to public hands.”
The Governor encouraged interested parties to submit public comments on the proposed land deal, which includes a small portion of land in Carbon County. The majority of the Marton Ranch lies along the North Platte River southwest of Casper. A small portion stretches south into a small, arid section of northern Carbon County.
Comments will be accepted in writing or through the BLM’s ePlanning website, https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018049/510. Hard copy comments can be mailed or hand-delivered to the BLM Casper Field Office, Attn: Mike Robinson, 2987 Prospector Dr., Casper, WY 82604.
