Buffalo RMP RevisionHigh Plains District
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is revising the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Buffalo Field Office. It will provide future direction for approximately 800,000 surface acres and 4.8 million acres of mineral estate managed by the BLM in Campbell, Johnson, and Sheridan counties in north-eastern Wyoming. This area contains vast deposits of oil, gas, and coal, and provides a variety of resources such as wildlife habitat and rangelands for livestock grazing. The public lands and adjacent Bighorn National Forest provide many opportunities for recreational activities. The purpose of the RMP will be to establish goals and objectives for resource management; identify lands that are open or available for certain uses, including any restrictions, and lands that are administratively unavailable to certain uses; provide comprehensive management direction for all resources and uses; and make broad-scale decisions guiding future site-specific implementation decisions.RMP News & Information
The BLM is currently in the alternative formulation process. During alternative formulation the BLM will use comments received from the public, the planning issues, and planning constraints to formulate a reasonable range of management alternatives for evaluation in the EIS. Each alternative will provide a different emphasis for managing the public lands and resources within the planning area and represents a complete land use plan.
The Buffalo Field Office is developing alternatives during a series of workshops with Cooperating Agencies. The range of alternatives will be developed to meet RMP management goals and objectives. Goals and objectives direct the BLM’s actions to most effectively meet legal mandates, regulations, national policy, as well as local resource needs. Goals are broad statements of desired outcomes that are usually not quantifiable. For example, a land use plan might have as a goal “maintaining ecosystem health and productivity.” Objectives identify more specific desired outcomes for resources and may be quantifiable. A sample objective might be to “maintain sustainable forage levels for livestock and wildlife habitats.”
While all alternatives will be developed to meet these goals and objectives, each alternative will differ in how fast the management goal is met, the degree to which it will be met, the priorities within resource programs, and the emphasis placed on different resource management actions.
Please continue to check the Buffalo RMP Revision website for future updates.
Public Involvement
When people, communities, and governments collaborate to identify common ground, share information, and listen to each other, the planning process is more effective. Community-specific input and comments are welcome throughout the RMP process, as they help shape the environmental analysis and inform the decision makers. Throughout the planning process, there will be formal periods during which the public may submit comments on the RMP. However, the BLM welcomes public input, such as resource information, issues, and concerns, during the entire planning process. The current Buffalo RMP is available in the document library. Visit the Scoping Information & Materials page for more information.
Cooperating Agencies
As part of the planning process, the BLM invites tribal, state, and local governments, as well as other federal agencies to serve as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the RMP. Cooperators play a key role in developing the RMP and EIS. Visit the Cooperating Agencies page to view a list of invited agencies.
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