Sweetwater County commissioners approve scoping comments on BLM Rock Springs RMP, urge firmer enforcement of protections
November 01, 2025 | Sweetwater County, Wyoming
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Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 31, 2025, voted 5-0 to approve the content of draft scoping comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan amendment and authorized Chairman Keaton to make minor grammatical or explanatory edits before final signatures.
The letter, prepared by county staff and revised by the chairman, asks the BLM state director to restore or reconsider several Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), narrow large right-of-way exclusion areas and re-evaluate a broad visual resource management class the county says could limit future local road work and other county projects. Eric (county staff) told the board the scoping period began Oct. 2 and that the county’s letter summarizes issues raised at prior cooperators meetings and staff concerns about substantive changes that reopening ACEC evaluations can force across the plan.
"So what you have before you is a letter to the state director concerning our scoping comments for the amendment to the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan," Eric said during the meeting.
County staff identified areas they support or want preserved under current or previous designations — Little Mountain and Kilpecker Sand Dunes were noted as acceptable Special Recreation Management Area designations, and the county said Pine Mountain and Sugarloaf should remain management areas. Staff also highlighted what they described as a major enlargement in the Steamboat Mountain ACEC, and asked that ACEC boundaries be returned "to their original states." The transcript records concerns that the enlargement of Steamboat Mountain could be substantial; staff described the figure verbally in the meeting and noted the record will need review for precise acreage.
The draft also asks the BLM to revert a National Historic Trails buffer from an earlier five-mile approach back toward a quarter-mile buffer for the county’s purposes, and to align plan elements affecting fluid mineral leasing, solid leasable minerals, saleable minerals and locatable minerals with the county’s requested changes.
Commissioners debated the tone of the letter. Commissioner Jones said he was "very much in favor of a strongly worded letter," citing repeated frustrations that prior professional, collaborative comments have not produced results. Commissioner Richards urged a blunt but factual approach and said the field office had given the county inconsistent direction during earlier cooperators meetings. Other commissioners praised the chairman’s edits as a strong working draft and requested only minor wording or explanatory adjustments.
John (county staff) recommended the board approve the substantive portion of the draft — the section describing the county’s concerns about the proposed deregulation or maximum-use alternative — while authorizing the chairman to make grammatical and explanatory changes before filing. Commissioners discussed the practical filing timeline: the BLM ePlanning entry referenced during the meeting states the scoping period began Oct. 2 and will be extended beyond 30 days to allow for an in-person public scoping meeting; the board was told the agency cannot address comments during a lapse in appropriations.
Commissioner Richards moved to approve the draft content now and to authorize the chairman to make any grammatical or explanatory changes; Commissioner Tillman seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously, with Keaton, Richards, Jones, Tillman and Slaughter voting aye.
The board directed staff to file the letter by the deadline if the comment period remains unchanged; if the BLM formally extends the deadline, commissioners agreed to use the additional time to refine language with the same substantive positions. Commissioners also asked staff to coordinate with the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and the governor’s office before finalizing outreach materials.
The board said the final document will be ratified at a regular meeting after any editorials are completed and signatures collected.
Ending: The special meeting was adjourned after the unanimous vote; commissioners indicated they would continue coordination with state and county partners as the BLM process proceeds.
The letter, prepared by county staff and revised by the chairman, asks the BLM state director to restore or reconsider several Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), narrow large right-of-way exclusion areas and re-evaluate a broad visual resource management class the county says could limit future local road work and other county projects. Eric (county staff) told the board the scoping period began Oct. 2 and that the county’s letter summarizes issues raised at prior cooperators meetings and staff concerns about substantive changes that reopening ACEC evaluations can force across the plan.
"So what you have before you is a letter to the state director concerning our scoping comments for the amendment to the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan," Eric said during the meeting.
County staff identified areas they support or want preserved under current or previous designations — Little Mountain and Kilpecker Sand Dunes were noted as acceptable Special Recreation Management Area designations, and the county said Pine Mountain and Sugarloaf should remain management areas. Staff also highlighted what they described as a major enlargement in the Steamboat Mountain ACEC, and asked that ACEC boundaries be returned "to their original states." The transcript records concerns that the enlargement of Steamboat Mountain could be substantial; staff described the figure verbally in the meeting and noted the record will need review for precise acreage.
The draft also asks the BLM to revert a National Historic Trails buffer from an earlier five-mile approach back toward a quarter-mile buffer for the county’s purposes, and to align plan elements affecting fluid mineral leasing, solid leasable minerals, saleable minerals and locatable minerals with the county’s requested changes.
Commissioners debated the tone of the letter. Commissioner Jones said he was "very much in favor of a strongly worded letter," citing repeated frustrations that prior professional, collaborative comments have not produced results. Commissioner Richards urged a blunt but factual approach and said the field office had given the county inconsistent direction during earlier cooperators meetings. Other commissioners praised the chairman’s edits as a strong working draft and requested only minor wording or explanatory adjustments.
John (county staff) recommended the board approve the substantive portion of the draft — the section describing the county’s concerns about the proposed deregulation or maximum-use alternative — while authorizing the chairman to make grammatical and explanatory changes before filing. Commissioners discussed the practical filing timeline: the BLM ePlanning entry referenced during the meeting states the scoping period began Oct. 2 and will be extended beyond 30 days to allow for an in-person public scoping meeting; the board was told the agency cannot address comments during a lapse in appropriations.
Commissioner Richards moved to approve the draft content now and to authorize the chairman to make any grammatical or explanatory changes; Commissioner Tillman seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously, with Keaton, Richards, Jones, Tillman and Slaughter voting aye.
The board directed staff to file the letter by the deadline if the comment period remains unchanged; if the BLM formally extends the deadline, commissioners agreed to use the additional time to refine language with the same substantive positions. Commissioners also asked staff to coordinate with the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and the governor’s office before finalizing outreach materials.
The board said the final document will be ratified at a regular meeting after any editorials are completed and signatures collected.
Ending: The special meeting was adjourned after the unanimous vote; commissioners indicated they would continue coordination with state and county partners as the BLM process proceeds.
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