Several Wyoming state agencies have officially submitted protests to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding the ongoing Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP), Sheridan Media reports.
Governor Mark Gordon announced that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and Wyoming State Parks have all lodged formal protest packages.
These protests are part of the standard process outlined by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which allows stakeholders to address concerns about issues raised during the draft phase of the RMP that were not included in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), released on August 23rd. The agencies’ concerns highlight what they describe as a planning process that has gone off course.
This is the final opportunity for entities that previously submitted comments on the draft RMP to offer additional feedback before the BLM finalizes its Record of Decision (ROD). The BLM Director is required to respond to the protests, with a Protest Resolution Report expected to follow.
The protest period coincides with the Governor’s 60-day Consistency Review, which Governor Gordon plans to submit by late October. Access to the protest letters from Wyoming state agencies is publicly available.
