SWEETWATER COUNTY – Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle says the office will be more selective in which calls from BLM officials it will respond to if the agency’s preferred resource management plan is implemented.
Grossnickle and sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Jason Mower spoke with SweetwaterNOW to clarify comments Grossnickle made to the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee two weeks ago. Mower says the sheriff’s office doesn’t have the authority to enforce federal laws, though it’s common practice to assist requests from federal agencies with situations. Mower said the main point of contention for Grossnickle is the BLM’s process in drafting the RMP started with cooperation from local stakeholders in 2011. He said following the 2020 presidential election, the agency was silent on the RMP until it unveiled its draft and recommended a conservation-based approach in August. The public comment period for the RMP ends Nov. 16.
Mower said the sheriff’s office, if called to assist with BLM officials regarding trespassing or vegetation damage on two-track trails related to the RMP, will deny those requests. Additionally, if someone is arrested in conjunction with a violation related to the RMP, the sheriff’s office will request a jail outside the county be used to incarcerate the individual.
Grossnickle said he doesn’t agree with using taxpayer dollars to enforce something that negatively impacts the county’s interests, including grazing, recreation, and industrial development.
“(They’re) slicing our Achilles Heel,” Grossnickle said.
Grossnickle said he isn’t opposed to conservation but believes a balance should be struck between conservation and use. One of the bigger sticking points for Grossnickle regarding the RMP is the shift from conservation meaning multiple uses to conservation locking out other possible uses.
Mower claims the RMP is extending regulations typically reserved for national parks through the RMP, which he said will shut down motorized access to places like Little Mountain and the Killpecker Sand Dunes. This allegation has been challenged by the BLM, which says its preferred alternative won’t lock access to lands it manages. A paragraph in the draft RMP specifically mentioning the closure of more than 10,000 miles of roads and trails within the Rock Springs Management Area was called a mistake by the agency, saying the paragraph was part of a prior draft that doesn’t reflect the BLM’s management goals. The agency’s critics, including Gov. Mark Gordon, have expressed difficulty in believing the agency’s explanation.
Regardless, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office is making its preference known through what it will assist BLM officials within the coming years if the agency’s preferred alternative is adopted.
