County disputes finding

A letter from Sweetwater County responding to a draft assessment of the Ashley National Forest disputes findings that the forest and Flaming Gorge are minor contributors to the economic and social well-being of the region.

The draft assessment report examines the ecological, social and economic conditions influencing the Ashley National Forest. A majority of the forest is located in Utah, but much of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir within the national forest’s boundaries is located within Wyoming. According to the report, the staff working in the Ashley National Forest decided they should revise the current land management plan in place.

The report states national forest employees believe the land management plan in place, which was finalized in 1986, is outdated and needs revision.

“Natural resource and social conditions have changed, new scientific information has become available and new land management laws have been put into place.

There have been changes in communities, economic activity and land and resource use patterns,” the report states.

As the report is in a draft phase, it can still have information added or deleted from the final document. A letter dated July 27 from Sweetwater County, signed by Commissioner Wally Johnson, disputes a finding regarding some of the impacts the forest and gorge have within the region. According to Johnson’s letter, the finding minimizes the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area’s importance to the economies within Southwest Wyoming, as well as the state’s economy.

“Sweetwater County believes the (national recreation area) is of significant economic and social importance to the national forest and the region,” Johnson’s letter states. “The county believes that the Draft Assessment Report would be incomplete if it did not contain a more thorough economic and social analysis … to the states of Wyoming and Utah and their counties and communities.”

Tourism accounted for $167.4 million in revenue to Wyoming businesses in 2015, according to a report published by the Sweetwater County Joint Travel and Tourism Board.