Rock Springs Resource
Management Plan
After more than a decade under revision, the proposed Rock Spring Resource Management Plan has finally been made public. At first glance, there is much to celebrate in the proposed RMP with unprecedented potential to protect Red Desert wildlands. There are; however, a few decisions we are concerned about and plan to protest before the plan is finalized. We are not out the door yet! We need your help to ensure the proposed protections as well as needed updates are realized in the final plan. August 23rd kicked off a 30 day protest period and 60 day Governor’s Consistency review. If you commented on the draft, please consider writing a letter in protest to the BLM as well as a letter to the Governor. Stay tuned for a more in depth analysis and recommendations for protest letters.
Proposed BLM Resource Management Plan for the Red Desert has been released.
Stay tuned for a more detailed analysis.
For questions about the Rock Springs RMP please reach out to our
BLM Wildlands Program Manager, Lauren Marsh: lauren@wildwyo.org
Historical Background
About the landscape
The Red Desert of Wyoming's Great Divide Basin encompasses one of the last great intact tracts of high desert in the United States. Standing amidst miles of undulating white sand dunes–the largest living dune field in North America–it is possible to gaze at nearby volcanic buttes gushing with springs, candy-colored badlands once deposited beneath an ancient sea and snow-capped granitic mountains a hundred miles away. Dark, starry skies abound, and vastness is tangible. Wildlife is abundant: Wyoming’s largest desert elk herd thrives here. The longest mule deer migration corridor connects the southern reaches of the Red Desert to Wyoming’s high peaks. The highest concentration of sage-grouse in the world call these lands home. And it has one of the highest raptor densities in the United States.
Since time immemorial this region has been the ancestral homelands and migratory territory for numerous Tribal Nations. The Red Desert was originally recognized as Shoshone Territory within the 1863 Fort Bridger Treaty, and today Tribal members including Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho, Ute, and many others continue to use these lands to camp, gather foods, hunt, continue spiritual practices at numerous sacred sites, and share Indigenous Knowledges or Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Local communities treasure this landscape for its opportunities for solitude, responsible recreation, hunting, working grazing lands, energy development, and rich pioneer history touched by outlaws, a gold rush, the Oregon Trail and more.​
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Resource Management
Plans
Resource Management Plans are carefully designed to provide a strategic plan that will ideally remain relevant for at least 10 years. When the plan is no longer relevant or environmentally adequate, the BLM initiates a lengthy revision process that begins with a public scoping period. This is followed by a public release of a draft plan that includes several alternatives for consideration. Once public input is received and edits to the draft are made, a Record of Decision is released announcing the final, approved plan. Public input is gathered throughout the process and helps inform the nature of the plan.
Proposed Wildland Highlights
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
Proposed ACECs prioritize wildlife, ecological integrity, Tribal concerns, historical features, and scenic landscapes. These ACECs, if implemented, will institute more rigorous management including closures for mineral extraction, conventional & renewable energy development, transmission lines, pipelines, etc. We are most excited about new and expanded ACECs that encompass some of the area’s most special landscapes such as the Golden Triangle and much of the Northern Red Desert.
Lands with Wilderness Characteristics
The BLM has proposed to not manage any areas outside of WSAs identified as possessing wilderness characteristics for those wilderness values. We are extremely disappointed in this all or nothing approach. Lands with Wilderness Characteristics identified in the Field Office total about 63,000 acres and comprise less than 1% of lands within the planning area.
Wild & Scenic Rivers
All 7 segments totaling 9.7 miles of the Sweetwater River that have been deemed eligible and suitable for Wild & Scenic River designation will be continue to be managed to preserve these outstanding values.
Wilderness Study Areas
There are no additional protections for WSAs in the proposed RMP. We are extremely disappointed to see the BLM remove language from the preferred alternative of the draft plan that would have directed the BLM to manage these landscapes for their wilderness values if released by congress with no further direction. Under the proposed RMP, these areas would return to multiple use management.
For questions on the Rock Springs RMP, please reach out to our BLM Wildlands Program Manager, Lauren Marsh: lauren@wildwyo.org