Conservation groups say a final plan for energy development in Lincoln and Sublette counties protects more wildlife habitat than earlier drafts, but still falls short when it comes to ensuring air and water quality.

The Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement released Friday governs the location of oil and gas leases on more than 2 million acres in the two counties.

The plan would prohibit energy development on 439,470 acres and would impose seasonal restrictions on 851,160 acres.

Pinedale Bureau of Land Management officials say the resource management plan could lead a total of 7,136 wells on 42,180 acres of disturbance, most of which would be concentrated on the Pinedale Anticline and the Jonah natural gas fields
According to Kellie Roadifer, planning and environmental coordinator for the Pinedale BLM office, the biggest change between the draft plan and the final plan is the elimination of so-called “large block” no surface occupancy restrictions on 205,000 acres. Instead, that land would be unavailable for leasing.

The final document would also protect the Ryegrass area, a section of land west of Daniel that is considered important habitat for mule deer and sage grouse.

“[The decision to protect the Ryegrass area] is in recognition that there’s some impacts to wildlife going on in some of the existing gas fields,” said Roadifer. “Both sage grouse and mule deer are moving away from some of these intensively developed areas.”

The final plan also protects areas such as Trappers Point, a 4,160-acre plot of land north of Pinedale that biologists consider the start of an important pronghorn migration corridor to Jackson Hole. “The restrictions are pretty strict at Trappers Point,” she said.

The changes in the final plan were mostly the result of public comment and consultation with Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, according to Roadifer. “We spent a lot of time working with the governor’s office and the other state agencies,” she said. 

Jared White, spokesman for the Wilderness Society, said he was encouraged by the changes, but also said work remains before the document becomes official in late September.

“I think that the BLM has clearly heard the public’s outcry for truly balanced management,” he said. “Some areas of crucial importance to mule deer, pronghorn and sage grouse that the public has fought for have been preserved from oil and gas development for the foreseeable future, and we appreciate that.”

“However this document is still clearly a playbook for energy extraction,” White continued. “[It] will lead us down the road for further impacts to Wyoming’s wildlife, public health, and the well-being of its small-town communities. Specifically, we remain concerned that this document doesn’t go far enough to address impacts to air and water quality.”

Linda Baker, coordinator for the Upper Green River Valley Coalition, also said she’s pleased with the changes.

“It’s biologically sound to preserve these large areas of habitat while allowing oil and gas development in areas that are already fragmented,” she said. “I am pleasantly surprised. I look forward to seeing stronger, more strident measures to preserve our water quality and quantity [and air quality.]”