WPLI moves forward on land designations
WORLAND — Washakie County’s Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI) working group met on Monday and hosted representatives from Hot Springs and Big Horn counties to work further on recommendations due to the state next year. The WPLI is currently studying best use for Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) in the county, with recommendations to be submitted to the state next year.
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WORLAND — Washakie County’s Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI) working group met on Monday and hosted representatives from Hot Springs and Big Horn counties to work further on recommendations due to the state next year. The WPLI is currently studying best use for Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) in the county, with recommendations to be submitted to the state next year.
The working group meeting, held at the Washakie County Fairgrounds, featured discussions on the Honeycombs, water resources in the WSAs and designations for sage grouse areas.
“We had a chance to talk about what was important to different interests and what options we have,” said Commissioner Aaron Anderson. “At the next meeting [in mid-December] we will be able to drill down and label the parcels we are examining.”
The goal of the WPLI group is to reach a consensus as to the use of the WSAs in the county, through public input. The primary areas of concentration in Washakie County include the Honeycombs (located between Ten Sleep and Worland), Cedar Mountain (south of Winchester and shared with Hot Springs County) and Bobcat Draw (in the northwest corner of the county, shared with Big Horn County).
Once committee recommendations have been formalized and approved by the county commission, the final recommendations of the WPLI will be sent to a federal delegation for introduction in the U.S. House and Senate in 2018.
On Monday the group discussed the definition and difference between “Wild Horse Management Areas” and “Wild Horse Herd Areas.”
“Washakie County only has one actively managed horse area in the WSAs, at Bobcat Draw,” said Anderson, “but there are several designated wild horses areas in the county, just no horses there anymore.”
The Washakie County Advisory Committee is comprised of representatives of non-motorized recreation, motorized recreation, agriculture and ranching, sportsmen, energy interests, conservation and environmental concerns, the local conservation district and the general public.
According to the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, Wyoming is currently home to 15 designated wilderness areas, covering more than 4 million acres. The Bureau of Land Management also manages 42 WSAs for a total of 577,000 acres of public land. The Forest Service manages three WSAs, adding another 130,000 acres.
Under the WPLI, all 23 counties have been invited to participate in the initiative, and each Board of County Commissioners will decide if their county will join the effort. Each county will create a County Advisory Team, made up of members from agriculture, conservation, energy, recreation districts and county commissioners to review and designate the lands in their area, according to a WCCA press release.
