In southwest Wyoming, people are butting heads on how to manage 3.6 million acres of federal lands. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released its updated draft plan for overseeing energy development and conservation goals for the area. It comes one year after the initial draft was released that sparked outrage among many.
Wyoming Public Radio's natural resources and energy reporter Caitlin Tan explained the context and what to expect going forward.
Editor's Note: This story has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Kamila Kudelska: The BLM first released this plan last year, people were outraged, right?
Caitlin Tan: Big time. The BLM outlined four options. It was everything from status quo to lots of energy and land development. The BLM selected the infamous ‘Alternative B’ as their preferred plan. Alternative B prioritized conservation of land and wildlife above all else.
But many locals felt like the BLM wasn't balancing f of federal lands. I remember attending a BLM information session in Big Piney this time last year. Looking back at the photos I took, people were visibly unhappy – frowning and crossing their arms. Take a listen to local Bob Dexter, who interrupted the BLM presenter.
Bob Dexter, archival: I want it gone. The whole thing. Throw it in the trash can. Who's in favor of (Alternative) B? Is there anybody in this room that's in favor of B?
Crowd, archival: No.
BD, archival: So there you have it.
CT: People felt like the agency was using a heavy management hand, too. In fact, it was kind of representative of where we are in time as a country – a lot of mistrust and disdain for the federal government.
KK: If I'm remembering correctly, didn't the BLM make a mistake in that initial draft?
CT: Yeah, a pretty major one. They said they'd shut down thousands of miles of two tracks and roads. The BLM said that wasn't supposed to be in the plan, and they did actually take that out.
KK: Okay, so let's fast forward. The BLM took public comment, changed some things around and, a few weeks ago, released a final draft plan. What's in it?
CT: It's an attempt at compromise based on the 35,000 public comments the agency received. It eases back on the conservation heavy approach and allows some more energy development. Some wins that mostly everyone seems pleased with: prioritizing conservation and hunting in the Greater Little Mountain area south of Green River, and also protecting energy development in the Known Sodium Leasing Area, which is in Sweetwater County and is key for the trona industry there.
KK: The Governor's office and other elected officials seem to think not enough was done to allow the energy industry to thrive.
CT: Actually, Gov. Mark Gordon highlighted that there are still too many Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). This designation is used to protect important historic, cultural and scenic areas. Right now, there's about 286,000 acres that have this special protection, and this final draft ups that number to 935,000 acres.
KK: That's more than three times as much.
CT: Yeah. And the natural gas industry also isn't happy with the ACECs. It closes off the area to any drilling. I should note that one report shows there might not actually be a lot of natural gas there anyway. But I spoke with Ryan McConnaughey with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW), and he said that's not the point.
Ryan McConnaughey: If the industry doesn't think that they could make a profitable well in an area, they're not going to drill. And so I think we need to allow those options to be in place and let the market play out.
CT: Initially, the BLM proposed closing a lot more land to drilling, but they'll end up leaving about 70 percent of the land available for development. Even so, McConnaughey said the oil and gas industry feels unheard.
KK: I know there's a lot of ranchers in this neck of the woods. How are they feeling about this?
CT: Definitely some reservations there, too. I spoke with Jim Magagna with the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. He said for livestock grazing, he's pretty satisfied – only five-thousandths of a percent will be closed, so pretty minuscule there. But he's worried about those ACECs I mentioned earlier. Grazing is currently allowed on them, but he thinks that anti-grazing groups could possibly use that as a way to block grazing in the future.
He's also concerned about how this will all line up with other federal plans. There's the sage grouse management plan and the Public Lands Rule, and Magagna said he wishes it could all be in one concise, easy to follow plan for land users.
Jim Magagna: “Because they're each done separately, for the average person that's dependent on these lands, it's such a challenge to put all that together and say, ‘What do I have when all those things happen and maybe others that are still coming?’ So still very nervous about where we end up.
KK: What about the conservation and wildlife folks? How are they feeling?
CT: They're a little more pleased it seems than others. They're definitely fans of the ACECs. Lauren Marsh with the Wyoming Wilderness Association said to her, this is the BLM saying the environment and wildlife matter.
Lauren Marsh: They're [also] really important to a lot of different tribal nations that have ties to these places, and so we're prioritizing those things.
CT: But some concerns include big game migrations. Initially, the draft had outlined no surface disturbance within a key mule deer migration corridor, the Hoback to Red Desert. But this final plan scraps that, and says drilling will be allowed as long as companies avoid or minimize disturbance.
KK: A lot of people have been worried that the plan would close public access to much of the area. How much truth is in that?
CT: None. There's basically little to no change from what people can do there now.
KK: Okay, so it sounds like mixed reviews all around. I'm sure more feedback to come, too. So what happens now?
CT: There's about a week left for people who previously commented to say what they don't like now. And the governor has another month for a consistency review, where he looks for discrepancies between this draft plan and existing state and local laws or other land use plans. The BLM will then digest all of that and release its final resource management plan.
I spoke with Temple Stoellinger, a law and environmental professor at the University of Wyoming. She said this could be a very telling time.
Temple Stoellinger: I would certainly anticipate if concerns can't be resolved during the protest or consistency review, that's a good indication of issues that could be raised in litigation.
CT: For what it's worth, lawmakers have indicated that Wyoming will sue if it's not satisfied with the plan. Stoellinger said it could easily be tied up in court for multiple years.
KK: Just curious, we're in a presidential election year. Gordon and others have said this plan is part of the Biden administration's attempt to shut down Wyoming's core fossil fuel industry. Could the results of the election change things at all?
CT: Well, it's funny you should ask. Stoellinger said she's actually not totally sure. It's kind of a gray area. But it's not like the BLM is creating a whole new rule. It's just updating its land use plan, which is required of the agency.
