[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6554100,"mediaKeyId","5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424","parentId",5030930,"title","Forest Service outlines Bridger‑Teton and Black Hills plan timelines; Wyoming ramps Good Neighbor Authority work","audioSeconds",903,"startMs",5991000,"endMs",6894000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424&start=5991&end=6894","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424/thumbnail_5991000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6554100/Wyoming/Forest-Service-outlines-BridgerTeton-and-Black-Hills-plan-timelines-Wyoming-ramps-Good-Neighbor-Authority-work","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6554100-332e71357df51c23b392b489295edbcd/orig.mp4?Expires=1770955912&Signature=FCPxCNjWYrLLCSxyidq6f0srfyO1xkCAsAwLEP~KkxGus7QI4rrSzaGgv21cDijFNQLqNhvRSNhA83lfwy5KkapvUHC2L0vcfI2SUUi49DTdHSJczJJJcEpy~8aTA8p5nEaAlz2~q2lpCiAu5n3SvDfeet9t4X~VNChgLfJqhyvEQF1N-jT3SL2qIvN-X9cbS6J0JJe7WhghgKZsbwtnFKtFTjJnbPkC9vzyE65qoMB3ER7WoTWmjWLpoTavfYb0m8V763iMOzNmKaHbbg-qx20H6CAzaOhstPsUhxIHfZ9Zh6lNxuF-80ea2qbkg3q8XAqrXGPwyLdyDsr8M~tAQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","New Hampshire Legislature","date","2025-06-20T06:38:01Z","article","The U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming State Forestry briefed the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee on June 19 about two forest plan revision processes and an expansion of Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) activity in Wyoming.

Chris Campbell, deputy regional forester for the Forest Service Intermountain Region, said the Bridger‑Teton assessment is due to be released this summer and the Forest Service plans multiple public meetings in July (Afton, Jackson and Pinedale with later meetings planned in Bondurant, Cokeville, Evanston, Kemmerer, Marbleton, Moran, Rock Springs and Wilson). He described the Black Hills plan revision as adjusted to ensure capacity, with a notice of intent and proposed action tentatively planned for early 2026; the Black Hills team is awaiting two lidar deliveries to inform analysis.

Campbell said forest plan revision is “a marathon, not a sprint” and emphasized that the Bridger‑Teton plan revision has robust cooperating‑agency engagement so far. He told the committee the assessments will present current conditions and that plan revisions set landscape‑scale direction for future projects.

Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris and Forestry Partnership Coordinator Jeremy Dedick described how the state has used GNA to accelerate work. State Forestry reported it manages roughly $10.3 million in federal GNA funding through agreements with six national forests (21 active USFS agreements) and three active BLM agreements. For 2025 the state expects to contract about 21,000 acres of project work — roughly five times 2024 acreage — and said its GNA accomplishments to date include more than 34,000 contracted acres, 60 contracts and over 42,000,000 board feet of federal timber sold (approximately 8,600 log‑truck loads).

Norris told the committee the Wyoming statute that authorizes the GNA revolving account and the number of employees the state may hire under GNA (W.S. 36‑15‑103 and 36‑15‑102) constrains growth: current statute limits state forester hires to no more than four full‑time employees and six at‑will contract positions supported from the GNA account, and it restricts funding sources to federal funds deposited to the account. Norris proposed legislative changes to allow the state to accept voluntary nonfederal contributions for GNA work and to reconsider the limit and mix of full‑time versus at‑will employees so the program can retain trained staff.

Committee members pressed for metrics linking GNA and active management to wildfire risk reduction and local economic benefits. Norris and Campbell said they can provide additional, more detailed metrics and recommended continued state–federal collaboration. Senator Larson moved (and the committee approved) a motion instructing staff to draft a letter to the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service requesting increased funding and support for GNA expansion; Representative Wharf also moved and the committee approved a motion instructing the Legislative Services Office to draft statute amendments to the cited GNA state statutes for future committee consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee, June 19, 2025-AM","oneSentenceSummary","USFS and Wyoming State Forestry updated the committee on forest plan revision timelines for the Bridger‑Teton and Black Hills forests, and on expanded Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) activity. State Forestry urged statutory changes to let the program grow and offered metrics of GNA activity and accomplishments.","taxTitle","Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee, Select Committees & Task Force, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming","taxId",29211,"location","Wyoming","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6554103,"Wyoming counties press Congress to resolve wilderness study areas; county-led legislation has moved in Senate",339,1867000,2206000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424&start=1867&end=2206","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424/thumbnail_1867000.jpg","/articles/6554103/Wyoming/Wyoming-counties-press-Congress-to-resolve-wilderness-study-areas-county-led-legislation-has-moved-in-Senate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6554103-afef2b2986cd0d5509858c2b287aa5f8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770955911&Signature=Ymhdnh3tggR6YcAiK3oT1PTgRWd1Nts5KuHWAC2RPlEyetkZCNT8s93wkqKcVk-9g0SERjaSsksaAgXyHMFmOhR8RlKm91iAVbCM7UPKnIqN2KkKSkCAgB5ITYPfc~SYanYkEfaCR61JRC2UoL~Y5h36tTjjZUSO2-U7FnwcLqGxTqJWTEVV5EnKf7bI8rBajjVXQvSNXkj8CZgnb7CZv4k~TGBINkC8ykObLp8NX0UbeLfaD1REDLmyiCQVz7nHsZO~pcg1S0M7cV2Voh6abzEeTwcbG~ynGHOU8zZDd6ykVepxXYi6mEkg92FT6NHxgWbrOBODOcJ~j30XymzyMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County leaders told the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee on June 19 that a locally driven process has produced federal legislation aimed at resolving long-standing wilderness study areas (WSAs) in Wyoming, and they asked the committee to endorse and help accelerate that work.

Jeremiah Ryman, representing the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA), said the association led the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative in the mid-2010s to build local collaboratives that reviewed WSA inventories and made county-level recommendations. “We modeled it after what had been successful in other states. Collaborative process is driven locally with many stakeholders at the table,” Ryman said.

Ryman told the committee the BLM’s 1991 inventory covered 577,504 acres of wilderness study areas in Wyoming and recommended that 240,364 acres be designated as wilderness while the remainder should be released for multiple use. Until Congress acts on each WSA, BLM and other agencies must continue to manage those areas to maintain their wilderness characteristics, he said.

Several counties — Carbon, Fremont, Natrona, Campbell, Johnson, Hot Springs and Washakie — participated in the local collaborative process and forwarded recommendations to the congressional delegation, Ryman said. He and other county officials said the delegation subsequently introduced bills that mirror the local proposals; Ryman said the package passed the U.S. Senate last year and is awaiting House action.

County commissioners and coalition leaders who testified urged the committee to send a letter of support and to continue assistance with coordination and technical information. Commissioner Kent Connolly (Lincoln County) and Commissioner Eric South (Uinta County) told the committee counties that did not initially participate in the collaborative could be asked to return to the process once the first package is enacted in Congress.

Commissioners and county coalition leaders also raised related concerns about federal land designations’ fiscal impacts, including the loss of property and sales tax base and the limits of existing federal payments such as PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes). They urged state lawmakers to support congressional action that resolves the inventory recommendations in a locally driven way rather than leaving WSAs in perpetuity.

Ryman asked the committee to consider repeating an earlier letter of support from this committee to Congress. The committee indicated interest in continued engagement on WSA resolution and related federal legislation.","County commissioners and the Wyoming County Commissioners Association told the committee they have pursued a multi-county collaborative process to resolve wilderness study areas (WSAs); participating counties produced legislative language that passed the U.S. Senate and awaits action in the House.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6554108,"BLM briefs Wyoming committee on Rock Springs RMP review; public scoping expected next month",5737,198000,5935000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424&start=198&end=5935","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424/thumbnail_198000.jpg","/articles/6554108/Wyoming/BLM-briefs-Wyoming-committee-on-Rock-Springs-RMP-review-public-scoping-expected-next-month","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6554108-f25a668db598a21e2b968e7306317988/orig.mp4?Expires=1770955911&Signature=RztvMLzTbP2eNniVSO-3fdiuwIVQrlI9o4ZZ4zosss3i3SyVWkGkWGtbZk8hj-E6Dpv-0UzrP40I0mG0RK8XPXe2AScFLTAZKXDzsM2J-WAn94aoPe4WIsSjmwizp08V7-FdhWBzFSD8Sqo-5~6oOwl1zV74Eda4r~4rMdaU6-pIbfV41SrF-WLGvFyBrgHhOpxUXjcgZErTciDNL75lGgEVKN01NMHJg3kX3YILmEg7UlgdvmD0xlxNg5FqX0NYSjkNIeAu10gPjN6-6Rt9vws65Yg6e9k2wG9xNolR62eAtjcr5MZAUbenDKQZu6W6sV5Irm7yLm6OC3VWYiI0-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chris Kirby, acting state director for BLM Wyoming, told the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee on June 19 that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun a targeted review of the Rock Springs Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) focused on special management designations that the agency believes most affect mineral development.

“The BLM signed the record of decision and the approved resource management plan for the Rock Springs field office on 12/20/2024,” Chris Kirby said in his opening remarks. He told the committee that the RMP “is currently under the new plan, which has been operating,” and stressed that the record of decision (ROD) remains in force. “All valid existing rights prior to December 20 were carried through into the new record of decision,” Kirby said.

Kirby and Kimberly Foster, field manager for the BLM Rock Springs office, told lawmakers the RMP is not preventing mineral development in the field office. Kirby reported the office has issued 27 approved permits to drill (APDs) since January and is on track for nearly 50 this calendar year, “which is more than the last couple of years.” The BLM also recently signed a decision record for a Dry Creek trona mine and is processing other mine expansion proposals.

Agency officials described the direction from the Secretary of the Interior and the president’s executive order as the reason for the focused review. Kirby said Secretary’s Order 3418 (issued 02/03/2025) and Executive Order 14154 directed the BLM to “review and revise where appropriate” the Rock Springs RMP. As a result, BLM staff have identified a trend: special management designations — areas of critical environmental concern (ACEC), special recreation management areas (SRMAs), National Historic Trail corridors and wilderness study areas (WSAs) — are the designations most likely to constrain mineral development.

Foster told the committee the Rock Springs RMP currently contains 12 ACECs, five special recreation management areas, a National Historic Trail corridor, and 13 wilderness study areas. The BLM’s planning timeline presented to the committee envisions public scoping opening for 30 days (with at least one public meeting) in the coming month, a draft environmental assessment for 30 days of comment, and a projected target for completing the amendment process by March 2026. Kirby said the agency currently anticipates a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and that the agency will use an environmental assessment (EA) unless scoping raises issues that require an environmental impact statement (EIS).

BLM advised the committee that after a final EA the process includes a 30-day protest period and a 60-day governor’s consistency review. Kirby and Purdy said the agency has met cooperating agencies in advance of scoping and will brief cooperating agencies on draft documents before public release. They also said the agency will work with the U.S. Geological Survey and the state of Wyoming to update reasonably foreseeable development scenarios that will feed the analysis.

Committee members pressed BLM staff on how durable any amendment would be across administrations. “Our goal is to come up with a durable decision that will kind of survive different administration changes,” Kirby replied, saying any EA would be an amendment to the ROD and the agency would aim for a balanced alternative. Committee members also asked about the history and status of the 13 wilderness study areas in the Rock Springs field office; Foster said those recommendations date to the 1991 inventory and remain managed as WSAs until Congress acts.

BLM officials agreed to provide links to publicly available documents the committee requested, including the Rock Springs reasonable foreseeable development report and related analyses, and to stay after the hearing for public comment. The committee included several follow-up requests from members about maps, mineral data sources and prior legislative work on WSAs.","BLM Wyoming told the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan record of decision (signed Dec. 20, 2024) is in effect, mineral permitting continues, and the agency plans a focused review of special management designations with public scoping expected next month.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6554113,"Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee adopts interim rules to vote as a full body",34,171000,205000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424&start=171&end=205","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5030930-0b2880e2aa4e92ab4fadadf738eb1424/thumbnail_171000.jpg","/articles/6554113/Wyoming/Select-Federal-Natural-Resource-Management-Committee-adopts-interim-rules-to-vote-as-a-full-body","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6554113-9b3521d03868eb1bddc244cde5ba5070/orig.mp4?Expires=1770955911&Signature=R5jM93aHPTWjkX21WGJTuqyvtQXuJ369hPC-1Iv96k7o1wXqqX5gowTC6oAmat8dulegOsaWzbd0F2bQxeI7v4NwwfrRU9ZP-R8KgE8d2NO8BTjIHR62DV-jnhkTmAjAY9Y6aOJcrslv8-4gXUZrF~KLlfYvCj9aVR9wT5r32eodTpyd-mbnE0elDPWc6LFIIXORkOi3p~M8i3cptMxa~S5QZwA~zapnvzE0AmxqovsSKETPfZJmHUEPU3Ktm330Qgft0GyY83tK~wbdxyEkUnFTocX8sv4ya70x-T926r6fOKiNiL1~WqHDmqTTEUmvrapEAb4D7F~4FFIa1VwGLg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee voted June 19 to adopt interim committee rules that direct the panel to vote as a full body rather than requiring a majority from each legislative chamber.

The committee’s motion to adopt the rules was made by Senator Larson and seconded by Cochairman Wark. “I’d make a motion to approve what they presented that the majority would pass as a group and not each separate house,” Senator Larson said before the committee took the voice vote. The chairman announced the motion passed after the ayes were called.

The interim rules were described in the committee packet as a standard template with a single material exception: two conflicting quorum provisions drawn from separate house rules. One provision, the House position, allows “a majority of the quorum” to transact business; the other, the Senate position, requires a majority in each house. The committee chose the House approach and will conduct votes under the adopted procedure for the remainder of the interim session.

The adoption clears procedural uncertainty for this interim committee and allows the panel to proceed with scheduled briefings and public testimony. No substantive policy changes were made by the vote; the rules address only how the committee will conduct and record future votes.","The Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee voted to adopt interim rules setting voting as a full body rather than separate house majorities. Senator Mark Larson moved the motion, which passed on an aye vote.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Forest Service outlines Bridger‑Teton and Black Hills plan timelines; Wyoming ramps Good Neighbor Authority work

Wyoming counties press Congress to resolve wilderness study areas; county-led legislation has moved in Senate

BLM briefs Wyoming committee on Rock Springs RMP review; public scoping expected next month

Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee adopts interim rules to vote as a full body