Public input sought on BLM Pinedale Land-Use Plan
90-day comment period, Feb 16-May 18
by Bureau of Land Management
February 9, 2007
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, February 16, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will call for public input on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement relating to the Pinedale Resource Management Plan revision. The 90-day comment period will open on February 16 and close on May 18, 2007.
The revised plan will guide the Bureau’s management of nearly 923,000 surface acres of public land, as well as 1.2 million subsurface acres of federal mineral estate in Sublette and Lincoln counties in western Wyoming.
“We want the public to be actively involved in the plan revision process,” said Kellie Roadifer, the BLM’s Pinedale RMP project manager.
The draft environmental impact analysis, which is now available for review at http://www.blm.gov/rmp/wy/pinedale/, looks at the potential effects of a range of proposed management alternatives under a revised Pinedale Resource Management Plan (RMP). Hard copies are also available at the Pinedale Field Office and the Wyoming State Office.
The existing Pinedale plan was finalized in December 1988. Since that time, numerous changes – including improved technology for developing oil and gas in an environmentally sound manner; public demand for more outdoor recreational opportunities; and post-1988 listings of species identified as threatened or endangered – have brought about the need to update and revise the Pinedale RMP.
The BLM worked with officials at the local, state, and federal levels in developing the RMP-related management alternatives, which offer a flexible, “performance-based” approach to public land management. These options, developed within the parameters of valid existing rights (including those associated with already-issued oil and gas leases), are aimed at achieving desired future conditions on the public lands.
A facet of this performance-based approach includes dividing the planning area into several management “sections.” Each section would have different goals for managing oil and gas production and conserving wildlife habitat. One section would focus on maximizing the recovery of oil and gas while conserving wildlife habitat as feasible and promoting reclamation of affected habitats.
A second section would be available for oil and gas leasing, with strict limits on development at the exploration stage to conserve wildlife habitat and other resources. A third section would be unavailable to oil and gas leasing. Finally, a fourth section would be available for oil and gas leasing, with stipulations prohibiting surface occupancy by oil and gas operators.
Those interested in commenting on the draft environmental impact analysis should send their comments or resource information to:
Bureau of Land Management
Pinedale Field Office
Kellie Roadifer
432 East Mill Street
P.O. Box 768
Pinedale, WY 82941
Individuals or groups may also submit their comments by electronic mail to the following address: PRMP_WYMail@blm.gov
The public comments and information submitted regarding this project – including names, e-mail addresses, and street addresses of the respondents – will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) weekdays, except holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name, address, or street address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this plainly at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by the law. All submissions from organizations or businesses, as well as from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.
For more information, please visit the Pinedale BLM at 432 East Mill Street. Kellie Roadifer may be reached by telephone at (307) 367-5309.
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