Wyoming Asks to Intervene in Green Mountain Suit
7/12/2012
OFFICE OF GOVERNOR MATT MEAD
State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Ph. (307) 777-7437
July 12, 2012
******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******
Contact:
Renny MacKay
Communications Director
renny.mackay@wyo.gov
Wyoming Asks to Intervene in Green Mountain Suit
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Matt Mead is seeking intervention in a federal administrative proceeding concerning the Green Mountain Common Allotment. The allotment is a large area of mixed federal and state land that is important for grazing and wildlife.
The environmental group, Western Watersheds Project, is objecting to Annual Operating Plans for the Green Mountain Common Allotment. These plans are based on a Cooperative Agreement between Wyoming and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Governor Mead directed the Attorney General’s Office to file a motion to intervene in this case and the motion was filed this week.
“Grazing on the Green Mountain Common Allotment has occurred for over 100 years. Livestock producers, the State of Wyoming and the BLM have all shown they are responsible users of this public land and this effort to shut down grazing, particularly in a drought year when Wyoming needs to stand together, is not in anybody’s best interest,” Governor Mead said.
The State of Wyoming’s motion states that the challenge to the Annual Operating Plans is without foundation and that the request for an emergency stay would shut down grazing for the rest of the year. The motion states, “There is no evidence demonstrating that the terms of the Annual Operating Plans will cause any harm to the allotment, and in fact, the terms of the plans were crafted specifically to protect sensitive areas of the allotment from overutilization.” Further, the motion points out that a stay would significantly harm the BLM, the State, and the grazing permittees.
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