Wyoming governor wants changes to BLM conservation plan

By Scott Streater | 10/23/2024 04:17 PM EDT

The Republican wants to make sure the plan doesn’t interfere with mining and drilling.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) speaks at the 2024 summer meeting of the National Governors Association.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) speaking at the 2024 summer meeting of the National Governors Association in Salt Lake City in July. Rick Bowmer/AP

Wyoming’s Republican governor remains unhappy with a federal land-use plan covering millions of acres in the state’s southwest corner.

That’s despite the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to significantly scale back originally proposed conservation designations that angered state leaders.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s formal review of the BLM’s proposed Rock Springs resource management plan, released Wednesday and submitted to the bureau earlier this week, recommends the agency make additional changes to ensure the proposal does not interfere with access to existing mining claims and oil and gas leases.

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Gordon also told radio station Bigfoot99 KTGA during an interview Wednesday that the BLM ignored state and local concerns about the plan, which has been in the works for years, and suggested the state is “well positioned to be able to litigate” if needed in order to “make sure that Wyoming’s issues are safeguarded.”

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