CHEYENNE – Gov. Mark Gordon is expecting a more favorable Resource Management Plan (RMP) for lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM ) Rock Springs Field Office following a push by local and state leaders.
Gordon spoke with TRN Media’s Al Harris Monday morning about the RMP task force he initiated and the next steps following the end of the BLM’s public comment period. The document has been the target of significant criticism from a number of elected officials, organizations, and the governor himself. Gordon said the RMP was in the works for 12 years and said the short comment period didn’t provide enough time to adequately address the document. Initially, a 90-day period was set, but the BLM extended the deadline to Jan. 17 after widespread criticism. Even with that extension, Gordon said the time his task force had to review and issue recommendations on the RMP impacted how much they could do. Despite the short timeframe, Gordon’s task force made more than 100 recommendations for the RMP.
“This group has really worked it on the ground,” Gordon said.
Gordon said the task force’s work is important in the possibility the state takes the BLM to court over the RMP. He said while he understands the frustrations felt by task force members with the process in making recommendations, the work itself shows how invested Wyoming is in addressing the BLM’s proposal.
“These are people … that care about the place,” Gordon said.
Gordon said he plans to meet with Andrew Archuleta, the BLM’s Wyoming director, as well as BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. Stone-Manning attended the final task force meeting, which resulted from invitations from himself and members of the Wyoming Legislature who had traveled to Washington, D.C.
The next steps of the process will involve the BLM addressing the comments it received, then issuing its final RMP, then issuing a record of decision. Gordon said the comment response period may get extended as the bureau addresses the public comments, but said Stone-Manning has committed to having the final RMP finished by the end of the year.
Gordon said the record of decision is where the state will have its opportunity to take the BLM to court if the record of decision doesn’t address the issues raised over the RMP. Gordon said the state has “millions of dollars” both proposed in his state budget and available in other accounts that can be used as a warchest for a long legal battle with the BLM in defending industries that pay Wyoming’s bills. However, Gordon remains hopeful the final RMP will be more balanced than what was originally proposed, though he doesn’t think it will be a perfect management document.
Gordon thinks the Rock Springs RMP was designed to be a template for how the BLM wants to manage federal lands in other western states, but was surprised by how much pushback it received.
