DECISION TO PULL LITTLE MOUNTAIN LEASES A GOOD FIRST STEP, GOVERNOR SAYS
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Bureau of Land Management’s decision to pull from auction 30 oil and gas leases in sensitive areas in southwest Wyoming is a positive step, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said.
“This is an appropriate response to the public outcry that ensued from hunters and anglers who care deeply about the Little Mountain area,” Freudenthal said. “I appreciate the BLM’s decision to slow down and wait to lease until the potential effects of such leasing on wildlife and other recreational uses are fully understood and addressed.”
In comments sent yesterday to the BLM regarding today’s oil and gas lease sale, Freudenthal’s Deputy Chief of Staff Ryan Lance expressed concern about the state’s ability to protect the area prized for its hunting, fishing and other recreational opportunities.
“It is clear from the current Resource Management Plan (RMP) prescriptions for the area that oil and gas development was never really contemplated for Little Mountain,” Lance wrote. “While the area is open for oil and gas development and certain areas contain No Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations, it seems that the overriding assumption in the RMP was that development was not likely in the area. That assumption seems to have been turned on its head – leaving us ill-equipped to protect this area, while still allowing for the responsible development of oil and gas.”
On November 12, 2008, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Regional Wildlife Supervisor Steve DeCecco wrote a letter that spelled out the agency’s view on the protections that would be required to safeguard big game and other wildlife populations in the Little Mountain area. (See attached)
Freudenthal thanked the Game and Fish for its work and said, “The prudent choice would be to hit the pause button until protections that are consistent with the WGFD recommendations are available. This means BLM should wait to lease until the RMP can be revised, a Habitat Management Plan can be crafted or a Recreation Plan can be devised.”
“The Governor requests that the BLM look at its December 2008 lease sale offering through the lens offered by the WGFD,” Lance wrote. He said the Governor’s Office will pay close attention to the already leased area and expects a comprehensive and protective plan to be created before development ensues.
“BLM’s actions to limit seismic activity on already-leased parcels in the Little Mountain area during hunting season and other critical times for wildlife clearly indicates a commitment to this world-class resource area and is greatly appreciated,” Lance wrote. “We will continue to keep a close eye on this area and look forward to working with BLM on a comprehensive plan to ensure protection of the area’s precious natural resources before development occurs.”
The Governor encouraged the public to remain involved in the discussion. “This is not the end, it is only the beginning,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
The text of the comment letter follows.
December 1, 2008
Don Simpson, Director
Bureau of Land Management
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
Cheyenne, WY 82003-1828
Dear Mr. Simpson:
I write to express the Governor’s Office’s concerns with the inclusion of certain parcels in the Bureau of Land Management’s December 2008 lease sale.
The first group of leases is located in the Little Mountain area, south of Rock Springs. As you are well aware, given the BLM’s Rock Springs Field Office’s early concerns with development in the area, Little Mountain is an extremely special place to hunters, anglers and other recreational users. BLM’s actions to limit seismic activity on already-leased parcels in the Little Mountain area during hunting season and other critical times for wildlife clearly indicates a commitment to this world-class resource area and is greatly appreciated. Given this understanding and the BLM’s actions to date, the Governor’s Office is hopeful that any additional leasing in the Little Mountain area will only be considered after the potential effects of any such leasing on wildlife and other recreational uses are fully understood and addressed.
It is clear from the current Resource Management Plan (RMP) prescriptions for the area that oil and gas development was never really contemplated for Little Mountain. While the area is open for oil and gas development and certain areas contain No Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations, it seems that the overriding assumption in the RMP was that development was not likely in the area. That assumption seems to have been turned on its head – leaving us ill-equipped to protect this area, while still allowing for the responsible development of oil and gas.
Given the importance of the area to wildlife in particular, Governor Freudenthal asked the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) to offer its thoughts on the protections that would be required to safeguard big game and other wildlife populations. In a letter dated November 12, 2008, Steve DeCecco, Regional Wildlife Supervisor for the Green River Region of the WGFD, responded to the Governor’s request. That letter, together with a color map, is attached for your consideration. The Governor requests that the BLM look at its December 2008 lease sale offering through the lens offered by the WGFD.
Specifically, for those parcels that can accommodate the WGFD’s suggested protections (i.e. parcels in the Currant Creek area that could be issued with an NSO stipulation and still be consistent with the RMP), inclusion in the December 2008 lease sale seems defensible. However, for those parcels that would require protection beyond the current prescriptions allowed for in the existing RMP to meet the rigors of WGFD’s map and letter, the Governor’s Office suggests that those leases be removed from the list of offered leases in the December 2008 sale. Such action is consistent with the state’s enhanced screening of State Land leases in the area and the public’s emerging concern with how leasing and development will proceed in Little Mountain going forward. Following a public process, such as an RMP amendment or the development of a Habitat Management Plan or Recreation Plan to incorporate necessary stipulations and other protections, leasing could then be considered.
I also write to you concerning two other parcels (WY-0812-184 and WY-0812-185) that are being offered in the December lease sale within the Jack Morrow Hills (JMH). These lease parcels were the subject of a March 27, 2008 letter from the Governor wherein he expressed concerns with the inclusion of these parcels in the April 2008 lease sale. According to BLM officials, the leases were offered, sold and, due to an apparent issue with payment of the bonus bid, were not issued (reference parcels WY-0804-255 and WY-0804-256 from the April 2008 sale). The Governor’s concerns remain.
As set forth in the Governor’s March 2008 letter, I would direct your attention to Section 2.2.1 of the Approved JMH Coordinated Activity Plan (CAP), which states, “An implementation, monitoring and evaluation process, including an interdisciplinary monitoring plan, will evaluate the overall effectiveness of implementing the management decisions for the planning area and will be used as a basis for making management adjustments.” The performance-based, adaptive management approach that was conceived for the Jack Morrow Hills Resource Area is coupled with the concept of a JMH CAP Working Group (Section 4.1 and Appendix 2) to allow state agencies, the BLM, three conservation districts, local and county governments for Sweetwater, Sublette and Fremont counties, and each Native American tribe to play an active role in the implementation and monitoring of activities that are authorized by the BLM in the Jack Morrow Hills area.
Unfortunately, the May 23, 2007, meeting that was referenced in the March 2008 letter from the Governor, “for the dual purpose of organizing the Working Group of cooperating agencies and to develop the Implementation Plan” has apparently not been followed by further implementation meetings. Given the Governor’s expressed concerns about the integrity of the resource values identified in the JMH CAP, it would seem that an implementation planning session is long overdue for the JMH. In fact, it seems that his suggestion that “additional leasing in the area should only be conducted after the Working Group has been named and a comprehensive Implementation Plan is in place” should be followed, starting with the December 2008 sale, given the lack of any real progress toward the full implementation of the JMH CAP.
The Governor’s more resource-specific concerns with these two parcels in the JMH, set forth below, also seem applicable to the December 2008 lease offering.
The sale of these parcels could affect important sage grouse habitat, depending on the level of development that is ultimately authorized. The leases overlay the densest concentration of sage grouse leks within the JMH CAP area (Map 8) and important sage grouse nesting habitat (Map 9). In reviewing the lease notice for the proposed sale, it is notable that both Time Limiting Stipulations (TLS) and Controlled Surface Use Stipulations (CSU) are included in the special lease notices for both of these parcels, consistent with the JMH CAP. The inclusion of these stipulations provides the BLM with wide latitude to manage any future oil and gas development – including a whole host of measures that could be instituted to protect the leks and nesting habitats. Specifically, short of a pre-decided No Surface Occupancy (NSO) constraint, it seems that nearly every other management option would be available to protect sage grouse on these leases. I look forward to the BLM’s proactive protection of these sage grouse populations, given these provisions of JMH-CAP.
I also note that the proposed parcels are located in crucial pronghorn winter range (Map 10) and adjoin the West Sand Dunes Archeological District. I would hope that these values are diligently safeguarded in the event that development is allowed to proceed in the area.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide my thoughts on the upcoming December 2008 lease sale and future lease offerings.
Best Regards,
Ryan M. Lance
Deputy Chief of Staff
Governor’s Office
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