SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County commissioners will once again discuss the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, as the BLM recently published its Proposed RMP and Final Environmental Impact Statement.
The Final EIS was published Aug. 23, which kicked off a 30-day public protest period in which protests will be accepted through Sept. 23. The county commissioners will discuss any further protests they would like to submit to the BLM. The commissioners were opposed to the BLM’s initial RMP proposal when it was released over a year ago.
“Sweetwater County requests that the BLM significantly revise its DEIS (Draft EIS) and Preferred Alternative selection in coordination with the cooperating agencies between now and the release of any FEIS,” the commissioners wrote in a protest letter in January 2024.
Much of the disagreement over the RMP was over the preferred alternative management plan, in which the county believed the proposed plan “eliminates multiple use within the RSFO (Rock Springs Field Office) and in turn, Sweetwater County.”
According to the recently published RMP and Final EIS, the BLM states: “The Proposed RMP was developed through a combination of Alternative B (conservation alternative) and Alternative D (balanced alternative) management actions, although some elements of Alternatives A and C were included, as well. This approach follows public and cooperators’ comments requesting a mix of alternatives addressing land designations, exclusion areas, and potential restrictions on development. The Proposed RMP allows for responsible development of resources while emphasizing protections for wildlife habitat and improved water quality.”
In addition to the commissioners’ discussion of the Final EIS, they will also hear from the Sweetwater Events Complex for a summer update. They will also hear from Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane for an update on the 2024 primary election.
The Sweetwater County commissioners will meet Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 9 a.m. at the Sweetwater County Courthouse. The meeting can be attended in person or viewed on the county’s YouTube page.
To view the full meeting agenda, click here.
