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Wyoming select committee outlines interim priorities: wildfire, timber, oil and gas leasing, RMP updates
Summary
Committee members identified wildfire management, timber sales and Good Neighbor Authority, BLM resource management plans, federal mineral royalties and state-level roadless rules as priorities for interim study and field meetings.
Members of the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee agreed on a set of interim priorities during their organizational meeting, focusing on wildfire management, timber and forest management, federal land planning (RMPs), oil and gas leasing, and federal mineral royalty sharing.
Senators and representatives on the committee discussed specific items they want included in the interim work: reviewing wildfire mitigation and federal wildfire management policy; getting updates on the Rock Springs and Buffalo Resource Management Plans (RMPs); examining recent federal leasing trends and the effects of the federal moratorium and lease-sale activity; evaluating the state's share of federal mineral royalties; and exploring state-level tools such as Good Neighbor Authority and potential state roadless rules. Several members said timber sales and small-sale initiatives are ready for renewed attention and that streamlining permitting and agency coordination should be pursued.
Representative Erickson and Senator Dockstader described local collaborative efforts and recommended inviting the state forester and federal agency leadership to brief the committee. Representative Erickson emphasized Good Neighbor Authority as a mechanism the state has used to administer small timber projects; he said state-administered sales have recently produced a portion of available timber activity in his area.
Staff advised the committee that its statutory charge requires a review of federal policies and actions that may affect management, development or use of state natural resources and that the committee may develop and introduce legislative proposals or federal comments as needed. Committee staff will draft the standard interim topics letter with a primary statutory priority and add single-paragraph sentences covering the committee's additional topics (timber, roadless rule, oil and gas leasing, federal mineral royalties, wildfire policies). The draft will be circulated to the co-chairs for approval and then submitted to Management Council.
Members discussed holding three one-day interim meetings, ideally with at least one meeting on the western side of the state. Possible regional sites mentioned include Pinedale (Pinedale/Pinedale area), Afton/Far Western locales, Buffalo (to review Buffalo RMP issues), and Laramie. Committee members asked staff to coordinate dates that avoid the Congressional Tour in August and other conflicts noted by members.
No formal vote was required to set these priorities; the committee reached consensus on topics to include and on next steps for scheduling and the interim topics letter.
