Volunteers sought to help guide natural resource plan

Document could help commissioners push for a greater emphasis on oil and gas development on local lands

Posted 2/20/20

Park County commissioners are seeking volunteers to help them craft a new plan for managing the county’s natural resources.

County officials are looking for people with expertise and …

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Volunteers sought to help guide natural resource plan

Document could help commissioners push for a greater emphasis on oil and gas development on local lands

Posted

Park County commissioners are seeking volunteers to help them craft a new plan for managing the county’s natural resources.

County officials are looking for people with expertise and interests in a variety of areas, including recreation and tourism, predator control, irrigation, livestock grazing, noxious weeds, mining, wild horses and land access, among others.

Commissioners hope the new Natural Resource Management Plan will give the county more influence in state and federal land planning efforts.

When the Bureau of Land Management revised its resource management plan for millions of acres across the Big Horn Basin several years ago, commissioners were frustrated that the agency didn’t give more consideration to the jobs and other economic benefits brought about by oil and gas development; commissioners generally felt the final plan put too many restrictions on energy producers.

“We wanted the BLM to take into account the socioeconomic effect of development and those types of things,” said Commission Chairman Joe Tilden. “But because we really didn’t have a natural resource plan in place, they really didn’t have to listen to us.”

That’s one reason why counties across Wyoming are now crafting new or updated natural resource management plans, with funding provided by the state Legislature.

Park County has hired Ecosystem Research Group (ERG), a Missoula, Montana-based environmental consulting firm, to put its plan together over the coming months.

ERG says the document should “serve as the basis for communicating and coordinating with the federal government and its agencies on land and natural resource management issues.”

“Real opportunity exists for counties to review their current natural resources, determine objectives and priorities for their county, and use that as a way to influence or compel federal entities to balance local economic considerations, to consider additional alternatives for management and planning, and to recognize the county as a coordinating partner, cooperating partner or a joint lead agency,” ERG wrote in a September proposal to county commissioners.

Tilden said Park County’s plan will be “primarily focused on development, oil and gas, industrial uses and those types of things — any large impact that would have an effect on the natural resources of the county.”

As the county seeks volunteers for a steering committee on the plan, Tilden said he is particularly hoping to see representatives from conservation districts, sportsmen and conservationists.

However, “everyone is encouraged to apply for a position on the steering committee regardless of background,” the county says.

Applications are due by Monday, March 2. Those selected for the committee will participate in three to five meetings, with the first scheduled for March 17.

The planning process will also include opportunities for the general public to offer input.

ERG, which will receive $49,836 from the state for its work, initially envisioned the natural resource management plan taking roughly nine months to finish.

More information and applications for the steering committee are available online at http://parkcounty.us/planningandzoning/NRMP.html.

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