BLM's Wyoming management plan has some wins for conservation
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(Wyoming News Service) The Bureau of Land Management proposed a new plan for public lands in southwest Wyoming, that makes some headway for conservation.
The BLM's new resource management plan for the 3.6 million acre Rock Springs Field Office is the first update since 1997.
According to the agency, the plan incorporates both new science and updated federal priorities including renewable energy and federal-Tribal relations.
The BLM must consider mining, grazing, recreation interests and - as of a rule effective in June - the "health and resilience of ecosystems."
Meghan Riley, wildlife program manager with the Wyoming Outdoors Council, said some parts of the plan strike an effective balance - for example, prioritizing greater sage-grouse and big-game species in the area's northern portion.
"It's sort of a win-win," said Riley, "because there's limited potential and even no potential for a lot of mineral development in that area."
The agency had four alternative plans to work with, and chose a mix of what it calls the "conservation" and "balanced" options.
In a statement, Governor Mark Gordon said the new one "does not meet Wyoming's expectations."
The final mix of options significantly scales back some conservation opportunities, including cutting the number of areas of environmental concern from 16 to 12.
Riley said the plan could have further protected crucial wildlife habitats such as winter range and migration corridors across the whole area, rather than applying the strongest protections in only a few locations.
"Having management actions that are tied to specific habitat types might allow the agency to be more nimble," said Riley, "in updating management as new maps and data are available from the state."
The public protest period runs through September 23.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
