Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative
Public Open House in Pinedale Feb. 22
by Bureau of Land Management
February 9, 2007
The U.S. Department of the Interior and the State of Wyoming are hosting a series of public open houses throughout Southwest Wyoming to provide information and address comments regarding the recent Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) proposal.
The Green River Basin, roughly the size of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire combined, contains an estimated 83 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or enough to fuel the United States for three years. The same landscape is home to 100,000 deer, 40,000 elk, 100,000 pronghorn antelope, 8,000 moose, 1,200 bighorn sheep, and the highest density of greater sage grouse within their western range.
In order to conserve this world-class wildlife and facilitate the responsible development of national energy resources, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Wyoming Department of Agriculture have proposed the WLCI.
The WLCI is a long-term, science-based effort that will identify, evaluate, and implement on-the-ground conservation projects that are most needed in Southwest Wyoming. The inter-agency approach will help ensure that projects designed to benefit wildlife habitat achieve tangible, on-the-ground results.
Public meetings will be held in four BLM field offices on the following dates:
- Rawlins Thursday, Feb. 15
- Kemmerer Tuesday, Feb. 20
- Rock Springs Wednesday, Feb. 21
- Pinedale Sublette County Library Thursday, Feb. 22
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the State of Wyoming announced the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) today. DOI has proposed $11.5 million in federal funding for the wildlife habitat conservation effort in Southwest Wyoming as part of the national Healthy Lands Initiative. DOI funding in the proposed 2008 budget includes $2 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $4.5 million for the Bureau of Land Management, and $5 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
"Historically, we have looked at each development proposal and its effects on habitat, grazing and other surface uses individually, Governor Dave Freudenthal said. While each proposal will continue to be evaluated on its own merits, this initiative provides an opportunity to better plan and choreograph future development and any resulting reclamation, monitoring, wildlife habitat mitigation and grazing planning. In addition, WLCI will provide a strategic approach for overall habitat enhancement work in southwest Wyoming.
For more information, go to www.wlci.gov, or call Renee Dana of BLM Rock Springs Field Office at (307) 352-0227.
|
