Public Meetings for recommendations on the Rock Springs RMP
November 8, 2023
CHEYENNE, WYOMING – Governor Mark Gordon invited the public to attend meetings on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Rock Springs Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP). These meetings are being organized by the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute along with the UW College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources, the UW School of Energy Resources, and the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.
Public meetings will be held in Rock Springs, Green River, and Farson on November 17 and 18. Organizers will provide an overview of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the RMP process, and how to submit comments to the BLM. This will be followed by an interactive public workshop for the public to share their perspectives with a task force to be appointed by the Governor.
"It is clear that the draft Rock Springs RMP is critical for the economy and lifeblood of Southwestern Wyoming," Governor Gordon said. "Significant effort must be put into making the final plan work for the people and industries of Wyoming."
The initial public meetings are facilitated by the Ruckelshaus Institute, UW Extension, and UW School of Energy Resources and will focus on the topics of livestock; industry; recreation and tourism; and wildlife and conservation. Facilitators will seek input from participants to determine priorities and opportunities to be addressed by the task force. The public is invited to participate in one or all of the meetings. Task force members will be at the meetings to hear directly from the public.
BLM staff are not expected to attend the initial public meetings. While the facilitators will share information about how individuals can comment directly on the RMP, public statements made at the meetings will not be a part of the BLM’s regular comment process. However, information, recommendations, and corrections can be submitted through additional comments from the public to the BLM.
Information regarding meeting times and location will be updated shortly on the Ruckelshaus Institute’s project’s website, uwyo.edu/haub/ruckelshaus-institute/rmp-meetings.html. This site will provide background information and questions given to the public in attendance at the meetings. Those who are not able to attend one of the meetings may contribute on the website.
These initial public meetings will inform a Governor-appointed stakeholder task force composed of leaders of various user groups including recreation, industry, conservation, agriculture, local governments and others. The task force will develop recommendations incorporating public input from the interactive workshops, which they will deliver to the Governor and BLM in January.
As a reminder, the BLM extended the Rock Springs RMP comment deadline to January 17, 2024. The draft RMP and information on how to comment can be found on the following link: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/13853/510
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