The following opinion piece is a community submission and doesn’t reflect the opinion of TRN Media, which encompasses SweetwaterNOW and The Radio Network. 

I grew up hunting and fishing. My grandfather was a Forest Service agent who instilled in me and my brother a deep love for the great outdoors — a love I now hope to pass on to my own children.

As a kid, I used to look across the Gorge at Little Mountain and dream about the day I’d get to hunt there. I remember tagging along as my dad and grandpa harvested cow elk, and ever since, I’ve dreamed of my own chance at a trophy buck or bull in that country.

I’ve yet to draw a deer tag — 0 for 25 so far — but I was fortunate enough to pull an elk tag for Pine Mountain. As I glassed, drove, and hiked that country, I was overwhelmed by its beauty: the cliffs of Pine, the bootlegger stories of crashed cars, the springs and dense pines of Red Creek, the cedars and steep drainages on Teepee, and the hope of spotting bighorn sheep on Richards.

I saw trophy bulls and monster muleys, but more importantly, I saw healthy wildlife populations — elk, deer, and bluebirds that could take your breath away — all thriving on land that’s been protected and responsibly managed.

I’m not a Forest Service agent like my grandfather. I’m a miner — a proud member of the United Steelworkers. I run coal-fired boilers, and that work reminds me every day how important it is to do things responsibly. Not just for compliance, but because I’m an outdoorsman who cares about the land, the water, and the future my kids will inherit.

A Legacy of Balance and Local Stewardship

The Bureau of Land Management began revising the Green River Resource Management Plan back in 2011 — what feels like a lifetime ago. USW Local 13214 President Monty Morlock jumped in early to help fight for the protection of these lands.

Fast forward to today, and that updated plan — now called the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan — guides how 3.6 million acres of public BLM land are managed across southwest Wyoming.

Now, in 2025, the BLM is reopening that plan to align it with new Executive and Secretarial Orders. Among those millions of acres, the Greater Little Mountain Area (GLMA) stands apart. While leadership may change — and it’s a new USW 13214 president stepping up to continue the work — the mission remains the same: protect one of Wyoming’s most treasured landscapes.

The GLMA offers some of the best hunting, fishing, and recreation in the state — opportunities truly unmatched anywhere else.

Over 15 years ago, locals came together to form the Greater Little Mountain Coalition, determined to ensure that this “Crown Jewel” of southwest Wyoming would be managed in a way that protects wildlife and open space while still supporting the responsible energy development our communities depend on.

This coalition — made up of hunters, anglers, union members, and local residents — spent years crafting a balanced, community-driven proposal rooted in Wyoming values: responsibility, respect, and common sense.

Because of that hard work, the BLM adopted most of the coalition’s recommendations into the final Rock Springs plan. The effort was also endorsed by Governor Gordon’s task force, underscoring the broad local support for a balanced approach.

Today, the 522,000-acre Greater Little Mountain Area reflects that balance. The Little Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) — covering 115,000 acres — protects fragile fish and wildlife habitat, including unstable soils that, if disturbed, can damage cutthroat trout spawning grounds.

While this sensitive area is closed to mineral development, the surrounding lands are still open to responsible oil and gas extraction — a model of how multiple-use management can work when local voices are heard.

Keeping Wyoming Wild and Working

No land-use plan is perfect. Not all of our coalition’s recommendations were adopted, and that’s okay. Compromise is part of the Wyoming way. As the Rock Springs plan is reopened, that same spirit of collaboration should guide the process again.

Here in Wyoming, when something’s broken, we fix it — we don’t throw it away. Much of the current plan is good for wildlife, good for people, and good for the economy. Let’s not discard years of careful planning, trust-building, and local input for the sake of politics or profit.

We can balance energy and conservation — but it takes all of us. I rely on allies, friends, and organizations that help hold powerful interests accountable. Whether it’s windmills or oil wells, some parts of Wyoming must remain as they are: wild, beautiful, sacred.

Without groups like the Greater Little Mountain Coalition, I worry that these protected lands could be lost — pillaged for the almighty dollar instead of preserved as the Almighty created them.

Through my time in the Greater Little Mountain Area, I’ve made memories that will last a lifetime. I watched my son harvest his first big game animal. I saw my dad take the bull of his life. And I dropped to my knees one evening, watching the sun set over the ridges, thanking God for the blessing of being free to roam this country.

I’m asking all of you to help keep Wyoming — and these lands — safe, wild, free, and ours. Untouched by corporate greed.

The BLM is planning a public meeting in Rock Springs on December 3 and comments will be due by December 18. Tell them:

The Greater Little Mountain Area is not for sale. It’s not for rent. It’s not for corporate greed.
It’s Wyoming. It’s Sweetwater County. It’s the West. 
One of the last true frontiers — where a bull elk still bugles across the ridges, a mule deer beds beneath the cliffs, and a pronghorn races the wind.

Let’s keep it that way.

Marshal Cummings
President, USW Local 13214