Buffalo RMP Revision

High Plains District

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Website: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/buffalo.html
Email: BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: RMP Project Manager, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo, WY 82834
Scoping Period: November 14, 2008 – January 5, 2009

You are Invited … to attend the upcoming public scoping meetings for the Buffalo RMP and EIS, hosted by the Buffalo Field Office. Public involvement is an essential and required part of the RMP revision process. As part of the RMP revision, the BLM is hosting five public scoping meetings to collect information on the public’s desired outcomes for the Buffalo planning area. You are encouraged to attend and provide your input.

Date	Location	Time
Monday, December 1, 2008	Wright Branch Public Library  105 Wright Blvd Wright, Wyoming 82732	3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008	Johnson County Library Meeting Room 171 North Adams Buffalo, Wyoming 82834	3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008	Campbell County Library Wyoming Room 2101 South 4 J Road Gillette, Wyoming 82718	3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 4, 2008	Sheridan County Library Inner Circle Mtg. Room 315 West Alger Sheridan, Wyoming 82801	3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, December 5, 2008	Kaycee Community Library 231 Ritter Street Kaycee, Wyoming 82639	3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

What is a Resource Management Plan?
What is Scoping?
How Do I Comment? 

What is a Resource Management Plan?
A resource management plan (RMP) is a land use plan that provides a framework for managing Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands over the next 15 to 20 years. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) requires the BLM to develop RMPs and update/revise them when appropriate. The revision process includes building on experience, applying new science, and working with collaborators. The BLM issued a Notice of Intent on November 14, 2008 to prepare the Buffalo RMP Revision and associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Buffalo RMP Revision project is an effort to revise the existing RMP for the BLM Buffalo Field Office.

This planning process will fulfill the needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), FLPMA, and BLM management policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.

The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the RMPs to ensure consideration of the variety of resource issues and concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines will be involved in the planning process: rangeland management, minerals and geology, renewable energy, forestry, outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology, special management areas, hazardous materials, and economics.

What is Scoping?
The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify issues and planning criteria that should be considered in the RMP and EIS and to initiate public participation in the planning process. BLM personnel will be present at scoping meetings to explain the planning process and other requirements for preparing an RMP and EIS.

You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM by mail or by e-mail. To be most helpful, submit formal scoping comments during the scoping period. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety. The comments and list of attendees for each scoping meeting will be available to the public for 30 days after the scoping period to clarify the views expressed.

How Do I Comment?
Several official comments periods will occur throughout the RMP revision process, the first occurring during the public scoping period. The BLM is requesting public comment on issues, planning criteria, and potential alternatives for the Buffalo RMP. The BLM encourages you to attend scheduled scoping meetings, but comments will also be accepted throughout the planning process via mail or e-mail. Please send electronic comments to BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov.

For further information and/or to have your name added to the project mailing list, contact Tom Bills, RMP Project Manager, at 307-684-1133 or by e-mail at BRMP_Rev_WYMail@blm.gov.