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WORLAND - Washakie County's Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI) working group met on Tuesday, and in a departure from the already established consensus format, reviewed a conservation-based proposal presented by Wilderness Society representative Paul Spitler, on behalf of the conservation-based members of the working group.

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 Tuesday, the working group reviewed the conservation proposal for over an hour, with a broad discussion of the details, in an effort to consider the recommendations for addition to the overall process.

Under the proposal, the WPLI group would authorize the Bureau of Land Management to dispose of lands in Washakie, Big Horn and Hot springs counties identified for disposal in the resource management plan. Approximately 40,000 acres would be disposed, including the proposed Westside Irrigation Watershed District conveyance.

In addition, the proposal would authorize the exchange of 7,000 acres of state sections within scenic and recreation areas, giving the state higher development potential in exchange for lands to be put under protection.

The proposal outlined creating a National Recreation Area at the Honeycombs WSA, a National Scenic Area at Cedar Mountain and a National Scenic and Wilderness Area at Bobcat Draw.

Using a six-point consensus structure, from complete agreement to a change or suggestion, to strict disagreement or no vote due to lack of enough information, County Commissioner Aaron Anderson led a debate of the proposal, which was in-large rejected by the working group with a consensus vote of six against, and two for or partially for the proposal.

Ten Sleep rancher Dan Rice, representing the grazing and range constituency, commented that the proposal "put more acres under management than are currently under the WSA," and rejected the notion altogether. The majority agreed, with only conservation representative C.J. Grimes voting in solid agreement.

Most of the working group members voiced that the proposal was a step back from the consensus process so far, and that the late admission of the proposal hindered the process and required more time for study.

Spitler, in response, said that it was the Wilderness Society's opinion that the proposal was balanced and indicative of what Congress ultimately would propose as "legislative."

After members expressed their frustration with the proposal, seemingly sidetracking the working group's progress in reaching a general consensus, Anderson ended the meeting after a brief public comment period, and indicated that the group could either discard the proposal or use it to come to a "middle ground" agreement in the recommendation process.

"We have a path that could satisfy the Wilderness Society," noted Anderson, "but the question is if we have the appetite to go that way."

At the previous month's meeting, the working group for Cedar Mountain generally agreed that the boundary lines need to be revaluated, and formed a consensus to remove the area from a WSA designation to a new designation with less restrictions. The group also recommended allowing grazing, water gathering and pipes, fencing and oil and gas exploration.

The working group for Bobcat Draw Also came to consensus to remove WSA protections and redefine the area, with minor stipulations, and allow controlled surface use of existing roads horizontal drilling for oil from outside the boundary lines, creating a natural resource are and creating a new designation. The group came to no consensus on making the area a wilderness area.

The working group for the Honeycombs also generally agreed to lift the WSA protections and redefine the area, while allowing for grazing and motorized and non-motorized use of current roads and trails.

During the public discussion period, Spitler expressed that his agency appreciated the effort by the group to define the areas for best use, but warned that they would not support a net loss of wilderness protection.

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.

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.

Members include Dan Rice, Shawn Christenson, Justin Smith, Richard Kroger, Dru Bower, Dwight Maryland, Karen Fenton, Ron Harvey, Aaron Anderson, Stan Wostenberg, Kaylea Matlock and C.J. Grimes.