Rep. Harriet Hageman, U.S. Representative for Wyoming | Official U.S. House headshot
Rep. Harriet Hageman, U.S. Representative for Wyoming | Official U.S. House headshot
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Harriet Hageman submitted a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning outlining the potential negative consequences of proceeding with the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP) proposal announced on August 22. The proposed RMP designates nearly one million acres of land as “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern,” rendering them off-limits for energy production.
Congresswoman Hageman stated, “The people of Wyoming deserve better. We deserve a plan that respects our economic needs, our traditions, and the careful stewardship of our lands that we have practiced for generations. America as a whole deserves to benefit from the economic and national security contributions Wyoming makes through its extractive and livestock industries. Wyoming is the backbone of American energy production – contributing to greater energy independence from foreign bad actors. The BLM is enabling those bad actors to a greater extent than anyone by crushing America’s best energy producers through regulation….I strongly urge the BLM to scrap the current proposal and begin anew, this time in true collaboration with the people of Wyoming.”
In addition to blocking energy production, grazing will be banned from 1,545 acres within the RMP area, with no assurance that additional grazing areas will not be restricted in the future. According to Hageman, while it appears that BLM disregarded input from Wyoming residents on this proposal, they did consider recommendations from unreliable energy NGOs and reduced right-of-way exclusions to allow for renewable energy development.
Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director
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