Buffalo Field Office

Land Use Planning

The Buffalo Resource Management Plan (RMP) was originally completed in October 1985, and an updated description of existing management was completed in April 2001. This update of the 1985 RMP began in 1992 and involved considerable public involvement over several years. The information was formalized and resulted in the updated 2001 RMP.  An RMP Revision was initiated in 2008.

Oil and gas management decisions in the RMP were amended in 2003 with the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas Project Environmental Impact Statement. An RMP amendment to update management decisions for the Fortification Creek area was initiated in 2007, anticipated completion is January 2009.

Since 1985, thirteen maintenance actions have been completed. These maintenance actions were related to coal bed methane, coal leasing, healthy rangeland standards, oil and gas stipulations, grazing allotment categorization, and land disposal.

Location

  • Covers BLM-administered lands and minerals in Sheridan, Johnson, and Campbell Counties in northeast Wyoming.
  • Of the nearly 800,000 acres of public surface, approximately 735,000 acres are managed for livestock grazing and the remainder for other resource uses.
  • Priority areas were established for coal leasing including about 378,000 acres containing about 26 billion tons of uncommitted federal coal.
  • Administered mineral resources are available for oil and gas leasing subject to standard stipulations and by case-by-case application of other mitigation of surface disturbance. 

Plan Decisions

Decisions made in the Buffalo RMP focused on the following resource categories:

  • Rangeland Management
  • Mineral Leasing, Coal, Oil, and Gas
  • Recreational Uses
  • Wilderness Designation Recommendation
  • Habitat Management
  • Forest Management
  • Mineral Location
  • Cultural Values
  • Fire Management
  • Lands and Realty Management
  • Salable Minerals
  • Soil, Water and Air Management