RMP concerns

"This proposed plan has the very real possibility of destroying Sweetwater County's economy," Commissioner Island Richards said of the Bureau of Land Management's recently-released Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Rock Springs Field Office. 

The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners discussed the RMP during Tuesday's meeting, expressing their support for conservation in areas like Greater Little Mountain but also their concern that the BLM's preferred plan goes too far and would hurt economic development. 

The BLM released the Draft Resource Management Plan, which quickly met with mixed responses, on August 17. The RMP addresses roughly 3.6 acres of public land and will affect how those lands are managed in the future.

One of the main considerations regarding the RMP that the commissioners emphasized was the difference in the alternative plans proposed by the BLM under the draft. 

"The BLM has chosen Alternative B, the Conservation Alternative, as the preferred BLM alternative despite years of local input towards the balanced Alternative D," Commissioner Mary Thoman summarized. 

"The BLM typically proposes several management plan options (or 'alternatives') for the area under their jurisdiction," a recent Greater Little Mountain Coalition press release about the RMP explained. "From those management plan options, the BLM will name one as their 'preferred alternative.'"

Representing the Greater Little Mountain Coalition, Joshua Coursey spoke to the county commissioners during the public comment section of Tuesday's meeting in order to provide more insight and explanation. Coursey, the president of Muley Fanatic Foundation, has been involved with the RMP planning process for the Rock Springs district for over a decade and a half. 

The RMP draft included four alternatives, Coursey explained. The BLM's "preferred alternative" is known as Alternative B or the Conservation Alternative. This option significantly expands and increases Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) and limits industrial development. Coursey explained that Alternative D as it is presented in the current release closely aligns with a proposal that was submitted in the past that had the support of over 2,500 local sportsmen and anglers, the 2019 Board of County Commissioners, and both the cities of Green River and Rock Springs. According to Coursey, this plan was the result of years of bringing people together to find balanced options. He said the plan wasn't anti-oil or anti-gas, but it recognized the desire to have certain areas in the landscape preserved and protected for years to come. 

"Striking a balance is difficult," Coursey admitted.

Commissioner Richards expressed his belief that Alternative D would have effectively protected areas like Greater Little Mountain, but Alternative B expands that line to include most of the county, which takes it "a step too far." He added that Alternative B would essentially end new industrial development.

"It threatens huge projects that are already in the pipeline and has the potential to cost Sweetwater County billions and billions in investment, and that's the money that keeps our economy churning," Richards said. 

"I know your heart is with the wildlife, as it is for all of us," Commissioner Thoman told Coursey. "But the point is if they go with Alternative B instead of D you may not have Muley Fanatics because we might not have jobs, we might not have income in this county."

"There are some significant impacts," Coursey agreed about the RMP. "I think it definitely warrants looking this over with a fine-toothed comb." 

The commissioners expressed multiple frustrations over the draft release, both in terms of the preferred alternative that was chosen and in how the release and public comment period are being handled.

"It's been 15 years with a lot of people at the table, and they went with the plan, with the alternative, that did not take any of that into consideration," Richards said. 

Commissioner Thoman also explained that the cooperator group for the Rock Springs RMP, which she is a part of and which has been involved in the process for 12 years, hadn't had a meeting since June of 2022. The group was supposed to meet again before the RMP was released, but the BLM released the draft a day early, before the group had the chance to meet. She also said the cooperators were under the assumption that Alternative D, which they had advocated for, would be chosen and they didn't expect the BLM to propose the "extreme" Alternative B.

Commission Chairman Keaton West also noted the irony that a plan that has been in the works for over a decade and is roughly 1,300 pages long was released relatively suddenly and only has a 90-day comment period, which feels like a short turn-around. 

Several commissioners and Coursey also expressed concern over the fact that the BLM is only hosting one public meeting in Sweetwater County, and that the meeting is scheduled during a busy time. Commissioner Thoman recommended fighting to get the BLM to host another meeting in the county, preferably in Green River. 

While they commissioners made plans to further review and understand the RMP before taking an official position, including expressing a desire to have more conversations with Coursey, they encouraged the public to be informed about the RMP and be engaged in the public comment process. Commissioner Taylor Jones urged people to evaluate the RMP critically and to not only attend the public meeting but to be willing to speak up during it.

"I think it's very important that folks turn out for that and make their voice heard," Coursey said of the meeting. "Make it known that we live here, and we also understand the challenge of striking a balance."

The BLM's public meeting and informational session on the RMP in Rock Springs will be hosted from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27 at the BLM Rock Springs Field Office located at 280 Highway 191 North. 

The BLM will host two other public meetings, with one in Lyman on September 19 and one in Big Piney on September 26. 

The public comment period on the RMP will close on November 16. The full draft can be found and comments can be made at eplanning.blm.gov.