Field Notes

This is our last chance to make a difference for the Bighorn Basin!

Posted on June 5, 2015October 29, 2019 by Julia Stuble

By Julia Stuble, public lands advocate

The Bighorn Basin—a vast area stretching between two mountain ranges in northern Wyoming—has long been a place for which the Wyoming Outdoor Council has advocated thoughtful management that takes into account the outstanding natural values of the area. On Thursday, May 28, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a new long-term land-use plan for the Bighorn Basin.

Now is the time to share your perspectives on how this area should be managed.

We have a short period of time to influence these long-lasting decisions so that the special places in the Basin are managed for ecological, economic, and cultural balance. Click here to take action.

Photo: Kathy Lichtendahl

The BLM recognized the unique values for three landscapes within the Bighorn Basin by developing master leasing plans, which require focused analysis regarding oil and gas development. The Absaroka-Beartooth Front, Fifteenmile Basin, and the Bighorn Front will all undergo these new, proactive “look before leasing” planning techniques.

We are pleased to see a prudent approach to these areas, which include rugged mountains, sagebrush steppe foothills, and rolling grasslands—not to mention lands and waterways that are home to populations of bighorn sheep, elk, deer, pronghorn, greater sage-grouse and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. However, we believe the decisions in these plans regarding oil and gas leasing need improvement. Crucial big game habitat and wild lands should be safeguarded from development.

We think the agency made the wrong decision when it chose to roll back protections from some 50,000 acres that, in the draft, were managed to protect their wilderness characteristics. We believe that the myriad ecological, scenic, and cultural resources of these areas should not be compromised by oil and gas development.

The proposed management decisions for these landscapes throughout the Bighorn Basin will guide decisions about energy development for the next 20 years. Cody and Worland elementary school students will have begun careers, and these pronghorn twins, we hope, will have passed their legacy on to several future generations before we have a chance to re-address these issues.

Photo: Kathy Lichtendahl

The agency develops these plans in coordination with state and local government, as well as using public input. Share your perspective by submitting comment letters to the agency to help guide this proposed plan in the direction of good sense and balance.

You can thank the BLM for their hard work in developing this proposed plan and in particular for acknowledging the importance of the Absaroka-Beartooth Front, Fifteenmile basin, and the Bighorn Front. We have developed a vision for these landscapes, maps of which can be found below. But additionally, let them know these master leasing plans are not adequately designed to achieve the balance between ecological integrity and oil and gas development that they should. In particular, let the agency know if you care about no-surface occupancy stipulations for lands with wilderness characteristics, big game winter range, and migration corridors.

See our maps of these special areas below:

Fifteenmile Basin (pdf)

Absaroka-Beartooth Front (pdf)

Bighorn Front (pdf)

Field Notes

Media Release: Last chance for the public to weigh in on the Bighorn Basin land-use plan

Posted on May 28, 2015October 29, 2019 by Julia Stuble

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2015

Media contact:
Julia Stuble, public lands advocate, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (307) 332-7031 x11; julia@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

stormlight
Photo by Kathy Lichtendahl

Last chance for the public to weigh in on the Bighorn Basin land-use plan

Federal plans for sage-grouse management also released on Thursday

CHEYENNE — The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the release on Thursday of a new long-term land-use plan for Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin, as well as a similar kind of plan for Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Sage-grouse management amendments for nine other Wyoming plans were also released simultaneously, in addition to sage-grouse management decisions for other western states.

The announcement of these plans, which was made by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in Cheyenne on Thursday morning, kicks off the final 30 days for the public to weigh in on the Wyoming plans before they are published as “decision documents” later this summer.

Relative to the Bighorn Basin, a representative with the Wyoming Outdoor Council said there are important parts of the plan that can and should be improved before it is finalized. And she called on the public to weigh in to help make that happen.

“This 30-day period is crucial, from our perspective, especially when it comes to the plan for the Bighorn Basin,” said Julia Stuble, the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s public lands advocate. “There are significant differences between this plan and the previous draft, which the public last saw four years ago. We believe the public deserves a chance to review these plans and submit their perspectives on those changes.”

The Bighorn Basin is a vast landscape stretching between two mountain ranges. The BLM has recognized that the mountain fronts and desert interior of the Basin deserve focused analysis regarding oil and gas management, Stuble said, but there is still much room for improvement.

Three master leasing plans—a new, proactive, bigger-picture planning tool to “look before leasing”—were developed for the Absaroka-Beartooth Front, the Fifteenmile Basin, and the Bighorn Front, which is a good thing, Stuble said.

But she also said that hunters, anglers, birders, and other outdoors enthusiasts have not yet been heard when it comes to protecting some of the values of these important landscapes.

“These master leasing plans as written can be improved a great deal,” she said. “That will only happen if the people who love these landscapes weigh in one last time to help the BLM make those improvements.”

Master leasing plans have the potential to bring balance to the crucial wildlife habitats, viewsheds, and wild places in these landscapes, but as written they do not yet accomplish those big picture goals, Stuble said.

“They can and should be improved before the plan is made final,” Stuble said. “The only way that will happen is if the BLM hears from the public within the next 30 days.”

The Outdoor Council, working with a broad array of local interests, developed a vision for balanced leasing plans that would protect the values of these landscapes, Stuble said. This vision prioritizes protections for crucial big game winter range and wild lands and allows for oil and gas leasing outside these significant resources.

“I hope the BLM will hear from the public once again and create master plans that are more closely aligned with this vision,” Stuble said.

Between the last draft and the current plan, the agency has also rolled back protections from some 50,000 acres that, in the draft, were managed to protect their wilderness characteristics.

“Out of an inventory of 500,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands in the Bighorn Basin, the agency decided, in 2011, to only manage 10 percent in a manner to protect those characteristics. Now even that amount has been rolled back. We believe that all of these important wild lands inside the Absaroka-Beartooth Front, Fifteenmile Basin, and Bighorn Front—as well as crucial big game habitat—should be protected from oil and gas development.”

“Public involvement at this juncture is essential,” Stuble said. “This is really the last chance for the public to help the BLM get it right—so speak now or hold your peace for 20 years,”

“If you care about these lands and you have hopes or opinions about how you’d like to see them managed for future generations, we encourage you to go to the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s website for more information on how to weigh in,” Stuble said.

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Field Notes

A new plan for our oldest national forest

Posted on May 6, 2015October 29, 2019 by Lisa McGee

Dear members and supporters,

Nearly ten years in the works, the Shoshone National Forest released its new long-term land-use plan today—and there’s a lot to be happy about.

The Shoshone is our country’s first national forest and it remains one of its wildest. As you might expect with a 2.4 million acre forest and tens of thousands of stakeholders, nobody got everything they wanted in this plan. That’s really the way it should be.

Photo: © Scott Copeland Images

In the big picture—and a land use plan is just that: a big picture management framework—the Forest Service struck a balance that keeps management of the Shoshone on a good path and safeguards the wild, backcountry values that make it unique.

Our primary goal in this plan revision was to ensure that the Shoshone remains a place where wildlife continues to thrive, watersheds and air quality are protected, and people can go to experience unparalleled backcountry exploring, camping, hunting, and fishing.

We are pleased that large parts of the Shoshone are now designated as unsuitable for industrial oil and gas surface development. This was perhaps our biggest priority—and something we are grateful Governor Mead largely supported. And, although no wilderness recommendations were made, the highest quality backcountry areas will be managed for year-round, backcountry non-motorized recreation—something we fought hard to retain through the objection process last year.

Photo: Rich Brame

If you’d like to commend the hardworking Shoshone National Forest staff, you can send an email to Joe Alexander, the forest supervisor.

I believe that as Americans we are privileged to share in the ownership of such vast and inspiring pubic lands. With this privilege, however, comes the responsibility to participate in the public processes that affect our shared public lands. With your steadfast support of the Outdoor Council and with your own individual actions—whether attending a meeting or writing letters—you have made your voice heard and have made a difference. Thank you.

Warm regards,
Lisa

Field Notes

Good news for Francs Peak, Wood River, and the Dunoir

Posted on December 19, 2014October 29, 2019 by Lisa McGee

We have great news on the Shoshone National Forest! As a result of a national-level review, the United States Forest Service has issued instructions that the Shoshone manage Francs Peak, Wood River, and the Dunoir areas to retain their wild, backcountry characteristics.

Earlier this year we objected to last-minute changes to the Shoshone’s new revised forest plan, which would have allowed motorized use in Francs Peak and Wood River and would have weakened protections for the Dunoir. The Forest Service itself identified these three areas as having the very highest wilderness potential on the forest, and while none has yet been recommended for wilderness, all will now be managed to safeguard their values, which include some of the finest wildlife habitat and recreational landscapes in Wyoming.

Francs peak and the surrounding land is considered one of the highest ranked potential wilderness areas by the Shoshone National Forest. Photo: Brian Sybert

As many of you know, the existing forest plan was finalized in 1986 and the process to revise it has been a long one. The Wyoming Outdoor Council has been at the table from the start and with the support of our members we have worked hard to ensure that the Shoshone’s backcountry character is protected.

Much of our focus during this plan revision has been to ensure strong safeguards are in place to avoid impacts from oil and gas surface development. We were extremely pleased that in the final draft plan the vast majority of the Shoshone has been deemed “unsuitable” for this use. We anticipate these good revisions will remain.

We are grateful the Forest Service listened to our concerns about Francs Peak, Wood River and the Dunoir and are excited that these protections will be incorporated into the final forest plan. We will be sure to update you when we know more.

Happy holidays,

Lisa McGee, program director

Field Notes

Big Game Migrations and Wilderness: See Their Connection in This New Video From Wyoming Migration Initiative

Posted on November 19, 2014October 29, 2019 by Julia Stuble

Today, the Wyoming Migration Initiative has demonstrated the vital connection between healthy big game populations and protected wilderness with the release of a new short film chock-full of amazing video footage. Don’t miss it, and be sure to share it with your friends.

Wyoming Big Game Migrations and 50 Years of Wilderness combines extraordinary imagery of big game migrations and interactive mapping to demonstrate how these species and herds move between winter and summer ranges—and why their summer foraging in wilderness areas is vital for their long-term sustainability.

In Wyoming, wild places and wildlife go hand in hand—many of our species need undisturbed habitats and connected ecosystems. Our big game herds, for example, rely on migratory corridors between high mountain meadows and sagebrush basins.

What we do not always realize is that many of these herds also need designated wilderness. Throughout western Wyoming, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and even pronghorn herds spend their summers feasting in landscapes that are protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964. Wilderness is necessary for the viability of these herds—a haven of sorts after they have negotiated challenges in their winter ranges and, often, in their migration corridors.

At the Wyoming Outdoor Council, we know this is especially true given the complexity of land management and puzzle-piece protections in low-elevation sagebrush country. A holistic look at landscape-level planning on public lands would not only benefit the herds but would also help protect our Wyoming values.

These migratory species are a striking reminder of the big picture of ecosystem connectivity. This big picture should inform all of the work we do as we strive to tackle the most challenging issues that cross management jurisdictions, encompass different land-use planning processes, and include multiple communities and diverse stakeholders.