Hageman Slams BLM Decision on Rock Springs Resource Management Plan
Washington, DC – Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officially released its proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) related to the Rock Springs Field Office. This misguided plan, which was initially proposed last year but then withdrawn in response to severe backlash, would still block multiple-use activities across nearly one million acres in southwest Wyoming.
Representative Hageman stated, “The BLM's most recent RMP and preferred alternative does not address the concerns previously identified, and will substantially reduce economically productive and environmentally safe land uses such as grazing, energy production, mining, recreation, and other important activities on nearly a million acres in our state. It is essentially a land lockout, converting thousands of acres of federal land in Wyoming from being managed for multiple-use into being set aside for non-use and non-access. This is exactly what the radical environmentalists have been demanding and this administration has been implementing all across the West.
“It is impossible to overestimate the level of harm this will cause to our local communities, our State and our country as a whole, due to the impact on our mining, livestock, recreation and energy industries – all because bureaucrats in Washington, DC are choosing to follow the “climate change” marching orders of the Biden-Harris administration instead of science and fact. While the BLM has addressed some of the concerns voiced last year, it continues to pursue a reckless policy that simply cannot be let to stand.
“I will continue to fight the BLM’s efforts to close down our legacy industries in Wyoming, and have submitted comments on the plan through the agency’s online portal, pointing out many of the RMP’s inadequacies. I have also sent a letter to BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning demanding answers on how the agency reached its decision to adopt a preferred alternative that is so contrary to not only the law, but public policy. Recognizing that this administration will always pursue the most radical approach when it comes to land management, I have already filed both stand-alone legislation and amendments to House appropriations bills (which passed as part of the Department of Interior and EPA appropriations bill), that would block implementation of the RMP.”
Background:
In August , 2023, the BLM Rock Springs Field Office published its proposed RMP and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that would determine how the 3.6 million acres of surface estate and mineral rights across 5 Wyoming counties will be managed for the next decade (and more) to come. This plan offered 4 management alternatives for land within the field office's jurisdiction:
While the original Draft EIS adopted Alternative B as the BLM's preferred course of action—which would have blocked the use of 2.5 million acres of land for constructing pipelines, power lines, and roads, resulting in a 480% increase in the amount of land placed off-limits as compared to the current (existing) management plan—this new proposal implements many of the same policies, locking the public out of approximately 25% of the land included within the Rock Springs Field Office Management Area. Implementing any of the policies suggested in the DEIS preferred alternative is wholly inappropriate considering the fact that the BLM barely studied it and has admitted that it was never intended to be implemented, being instead considered a “bookend alternative” for comparison purposes. ### Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director |