The final Red Desert plan from the Bureau of Land Management was expected to be released before the first of the year. Just this week, the BLM indicated that the final plan will not be completed until late March at the earliest.
This delay will give Wyoming conservationists additional time to highlight the many attributes of the Red Desert. They plan to use the additional time to continue their advocacy on behalf of the wilderness, wildlife, and wide-open spaces of the region.
Friends of the Red Desert will be presenting a series of slide shows in Wyoming over the next two weeks to continue to spread the word about the need to protect the wild landscape and wildlife of the Red Desert region and the Jack Morrow Hills area in particular.
Background
Even in Wyoming, with its bounties of beauty and wildlife, the Red Desert is remarkable. Like other "icons" of our public lands across the American West today, the Red Desert is a target for oil and gas development.
Encompassed within the greater Red Desert region and at particular risk is the 600,000-acre Jack Morrow Hills, the "Wild Heart of the West." This incredible region, where legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ran wild, is home to the greatest concentration of Wilderness Study Areas in Wyoming. The area holds a wealth of unique and rare resources, including several nationally important historic trails and landmarks, sensitive plant species, a rare desert elk herd, the world's largest pronghorn herd and important Native American spiritual and rock art sites.
Conservationists are actively engaged in the Bureau of Land Management's planning processes to prevent further oil and gas development in this area and to preserve the wide-open spaces and wilderness character of the Red Desert. During the most recent round of public involvement in the planning process, over 60,000 comments were received by the BLM with more than 90% of the comments supporting lasting protections. (See Wilderness Report #91.)
Slide Show Schedule
All 5 slide show presentations have taken place already.
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