Just before the
holidays – and the federal government shutdown
– began in earnest in late December, the
Wyoming Bureau of Land Management Office
released a timely notice about an upcoming
controversial lease sale.
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SUBLETTE COUNTY – Just before the
holidays – and the federal government shutdown
– began in earnest in late December, the
Wyoming Bureau of Land Management Office
released a timely notice about an upcoming
controversial lease sale.
On Dec. 21, the BLM Wyoming announced
the lease sale notice for 578 parcels initially
proposed to be sold in its 2018 fourth-quarter
December sale. The December lease sale proceeded
with three parcels, none of which contained
greater sage-grouse habitat or big-game
migration corridor concerns.
The state office, which had reviewed public
comments and then sought further comment
about the remaining 578 parcels, said these
would be offered in a supplemental lease sale
in February.
Public information officer Courtney Whiteman
reported on Dec. 21 that the supplementary
sale is now set to run from Feb. 25
through March 1 with 568 parcels proposed
totaling about 768,942 acres.
The Wyoming BLM also posted its Finding
of No Significant Impact for the February
lease sale that describes the modified proposed
action to sell 583 parcels containing about
790,462 acres.
After further review, the BLM deferred 79
whole parcels and portions of 27 parcels totaling
about 181,421 acres.
“The BLM deferred seven additional parcels
from the sale at the request of the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department, citing
concerns for the Red Desert to Hoback mule
deer migration route,” Whiteman noted.
“Three additional alternatives were considered
but not analyzed in detail: Offer all
parcels subject to standard lease terms and
conditions, offer all parcels subject to no surface
occupancy stipulations, and defer all parcels
located in greater sage-grouse habitats,
the FONSI states. “These alternatives were not
analyzed in details because they would not be
in conformance with the respective resource
management plans.”
In November, Whiteman explained the
process: “Our RMPs identify major resource
concerns and considerations, such as plant or
animal habitat, sensitive environmental factors,
culturally important values, etc. RMPs
generally specify areas to be open to leasing,
closed to leasing, or open with stipulations that
protect the habitats or resources in the area.
We follow the direction laid out in RMPs as
we analyze parcels for leasing, and we make
leasing decisions based on these directions.”
Of the additional deferred parcels, Nick
Dobric of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership said, “We appreciate the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department’s increased
leadership to request deferring energy leases in
recognized big-game migration corridors till
appropriate lease stipulations can be applied.
We also appreciate their attention to stopover
areas, where deer spend 95 percent of their migration
foraging and are used spring and fall,
year after year.”
Other parcels along Game and Fish’s biggame
migration routes will be tagged with
special lease notices for buyers to be aware
that certain additional wildlife mitigation are
likely needed if they do purchase a lease and
plan to develop.
The Dec. 21 sale notice also kicked off a
30-day protest period to run through 4 p.m. on
Jan. 22.
A group of eminent biologists and wildlife
experts, many retired, also penned a lengthy
letter of concern to former Secretary of the Interior
Ryan Zinke’s replacement Deputy Secretary
David Bernhardt.
In the letter, they ask the Department of the
Interior to delay leasing on any parcels that
intersect the 150-mile Red Desert to Hoback
mule deer migration corridor. They request
a stay until federal guidelines are created to
make sure energy development – which mule
deer have been shown to avoid – would not
further damage the mule deer route.
The letter cites Zinke’s 2018 Secretarial
Order to protect and prioritize big game migration
routes and habitat.
“The ability of big game to utilize seasonal
habitats across great distances is critical for
sustaining the robust herds of wildlife that
we know and enjoy across many areas of the
American West,” it says.
The status of that request is unknown with
BLM offices closed since Dec. 22.
The protest period deadline of Jan. 22 apparently
continues as the government shutdown
finds BLM offices statewide closed with
employees furloughed.
Visit https://go.usa.gov/xExGK for relevant
documents. BLM websites will not be maintained
until federal funding is restored.