Wyoming
Wyoming, Utah First To Sue BLM For Putting… | Cowboy State Daily
Wyoming and Utah have become the first states to challenge in federal court an obscure rule touted by the Bureau of Land Management that marks a major shift in how 245 million acres of public lands are managed in the United States.
The rule was designed by BLM to strike a balance between conservation and extractive mining for natural resources like coal, gold, silver, nickel and uranium, all of which are big undertakings in the Cowboy State.
However, the rule effectively gives the BLM power to kill off mining projects before they even get off the drawing board.
The rule provides BLM with leverage to allow for more complete consideration of land uses, including conservation uses or restoration projects, especially for culturally rich landscapes and the ability to keep intact wildlife migration corridors, such for as pronghorn, in parts of central Wyoming’s Red Desert.
The two states announced Wednesday that they have jointly filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah in Salt Lake City challenging the BLM’s final “public lands rule.”
The BLM’s final rule was announced April 18.
‘Abomination Of A Rule’
The lawsuit claims that the rule isn’t needed, and that the preferred path to preserve public lands would have been the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which gives states like Wyoming and Utah a shot at mining proposals.
Instead, the states wrote in their lawsuit, the rule represents a fundamental “change in how the agency will carry out its mission moving forward,”
Despite the objections of several states, BLM sidestepped NEPA requirements and unreasonably concluded that no “extraordinary circumstances” would ever warrant a NEPA review, thus bypassing the federal law completely, according to the lawsuit.
“Ever since this abomination of a rule raised its ugly head, demonstrating the Biden administration’s disregard for the law, I have fought it tooth and nail,” said Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon in a statement.
Wyoming has a lot at stake with the BLM’s approach to managing public lands and could see a further clamping down on mining should the public lands rule tilt in favor of keeping land untouched for conservation purposes instead of being mined and later reclaimed under federal mining rules.
Overall, the BLM manages about 18.4 million acres of public lands and 42.9 million acres of federal land with mineral deposits in the state of Wyoming.
“This legal challenge ensures that this administration is called out for sidestepping the bedrock federal statutes which guide public land management by attempting to eliminate multiple use through a corrupted definition of conservation, and for doing so with impunity,” Gordon said. “I look forward to our day in court and putting the BLM back on the right path.”
A draft of the BLM’s public lands rule, formally known as the “Conservation and Landscape Health” rule, was unveiled for public comment initially April 3, 2023.
Gordon testified in opposition to the draft rule before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 2023, and challenged the direction of the rule’s new powers in comments filed with BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning nearly a year ago.
Wyoming saw its first rabies case of the season in Sheridan County, the state’s Department of Health reported Wednesday.
The case was reported in May in Sheridan County. A rabid bat was found in the backyard of a home in a downtown residential neighborhood, according to the health department.
Humans and pets can become infected from bites and scratches of an animal with rabies. Rabies is not spread through the touch of an infected animal or its feces or urine.
Bat bites are not always visible. Anyone who has direct contact with a bat or who wakes up with a bat in their room should immediately contact a doctor or public health provider for assessment.
There were six confirmed cases of rabies in Wyoming animals last year.
Tips for preventing rabies:
- Don’t touch or feed wild or stray animals.
- Treat animal bites with soap and water and contact a medical professional immediately.
- People waking to find a bat in their room or a child’s room should contact a medical professional immediately.
- Vaccinate dogs, cats, ferrets, horses and other selected livestock for rabies and keep vaccinations up to date.
For more information about rabies exposure in Wyoming, please visit:
https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/infectious-disease-epidemiology-unit/disease/rabies/ [links-2.govdelivery.com]
A number candidates attended the Take Back Wyoming: Non-Freedom Caucus Republican Candidates Shop Party at Ryan Brothers Trucking last Friday. The event was hosted by and was a fundraiser for a House District 28 candidate.
The group was comprised of Wyoming Republican voters, who have become disenchanted with the Freedom Caucus, which currently controls the Wyoming State Legislature, and with actions taken in recent months by the State of Wyoming Republican Party to change the party’s By-Laws regarding support for candidates prior to the primary election.
Since moving to Wyoming many years ago, and having lived in a few towns around the state, I find that some town and city rivalries must be addressed. Some are based on past conflicts that still cause pain to this day. Some are unexplained.
For example, to this day, all of Johnson County still does not trust Cheyenne after the Johnson County War of 1892. Cattlemen in Cheyenne sent a hit squad hired by the barons to invade Johnson County to eliminate alleged rustlers. A shootout that lasted several days ensued.
Other town rivalries include:
Green River vs. Rock Springs: The two towns are close together and share one of the most intense and oldest community, cultural, and athletic rivalries in the state.
Lander vs. Riverton: Located in Fremont County, this rivalry dates back to 1922 and divides the area over high school football bragging rights. They talk a lot of smack about each other.
Cheyenne vs Casper: The towns just HATE each other. I’ve lived in both, and I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with either town. But I’ve come across people in both towns who talk about their hatred of the other.
There is not a lot of love across Wyoming for Jackson, mostly because of the mega-rich liberals who live there. Many of those mega-rich liberals look down on the rest of Wyoming.
Folks talk smack about Laramie, but in a very different way than people talk smack about Gillette.
Having traveled around Wyoming, I can tell you that most of this hate is just nonsense and a waste of time. In the end, we are all Wyomingites. Just one big bickering family who still have each other’s backs when it comes down to it.
The Charmingly Odd Town Of La Grange Wyoming
It is well worth the long drive to see one of the most interesting and quirky little towns in Wyoming.
Stay for lunch. You won’t regret it.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Jay Em, Wyoming, Frozen In Time
Jay Em, what an unusual name for a town.The few people who live there are proud of what their spot on earth once was, and they work to preserve it. They keep this little community frozen in time.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
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