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Commissioners discuss Medicine Wheel expansion proposal; possible county comment before month-end
Summary
A proposal circulated to expand the Medicine Wheel historic-preservation area from about 4,080 acres to 27,000 acres and create a 2.5-mile mitigation radius drew concern from a commissioner about impacts to roads, military radar, outfitters and tourism; staff will seek clarification and consider submitting county comments before the federal comment deadline at month-end.
Commissioners discussed a proposal to expand the Medicine Wheel historic-preservation designation from roughly 4,080 acres to 27,000 acres, a change that would create an approximately 2.5-mile mitigation radius around the site and could affect roads, a military radar site and local outfitters.
"There is a proposal for the Medicine Wheel, historic preservation plan, to actually go from 4,080 acres to 27,000 acres and that would be a 2.5 mile radius all the way around the Medicine Wheel up on the Bighorns," Commissioner (speaker 6) said. He said the plan could require mitigation of roads and removal of radar infrastructure and noted tourism impacts for Big Horn County and Sheridan County if adopted. The commissioner urged staff to review the proposal and to draft a comment from the county before the public-comment period closes at the end of the month.
Commissioners asked staff to contact the National Forest Service and local rangers for clarification and to consider inviting the ranger district to a staff meeting if necessary. Staff agreed to forward the proposal to relevant parties and return with recommended next steps before the comment deadline.
