Weston County authorizes legal help on Black Hills planning; staff gives updates on BLM, Thunder Basin and DOI rule review

Weston County commissioners on June 17 voted to allow county staff to retain Fallon Law Office for legal assistance on issues related to the Black Hills National Forest land-use plan revision and associated legal questions.

County staff member Drew gave the commissioners several federal public-lands updates and requests. He said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Newcastle expects to send an administrative copy of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a resource management plan “sometime mid July” and that the county will have about 30 days to review it. “If it does, I'm sure Chad will be sending out a note, but I have no additional information besides that,” Drew said.

Drew also announced a Thunder Basin National Grasslands Working Group meeting and field tour scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, which will include a tour of treated areas, discussion of monitoring and implementation, mapping results and funding needs. He said he will attend and report back to the commission.

On Greater Sage‑Grouse planning, Drew told the commission that state and federal offices, including the governor's office and Game and Fish, are still working with the BLM and other states to determine how to proceed toward a record of decision; no new decisions were reported.

Drew described a Department of the Interior (DOI) Federal Register notice seeking input on regulatory reform and invited the commission and public to submit suggested rules, policies or regulations for review. “The deadline for that is June 20, which is this Friday,” he said, and added that the DOI is assembling an email channel to accept follow-up submissions.

Drew also reported that the administration has combined wildland fire authorities into a United States Wildland Fire Services Office, funded so far at $13,000,000,000, intended to coordinate USDA and DOI wildfire efforts.

After the presentation Drew requested legal assistance on technical questions under the National Forest Management Act and related planning rules. The county previously included Fallon Law Office services in its contract for related work; Drew said Cook County pays bills and is reimbursed by the state and that the arrangement would not shift unreimbursed costs to Weston County. A commissioner moved to authorize Drew to retain Fallon Law Office for legal assistance on the Black Hills National Forest plan revision; the commission voted in favor by voice vote.

The commission gave the staff direction to proceed with the review and to continue coordinating with other counties and trade organizations on DOI comment submissions.

Ending: Drew said he would report back on the Thunder Basin tour and any materials that come from the Newcastle BLM EIS review; the commission did not set a separate public-comment deadline beyond the federal deadlines noted by Drew.