BRC: Scoping Begins On Billings FO/Pompeys Pillar National Monument RMPs

[Blue Ribbon Coalition]

Date: 06/17/2008

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!



Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

Scoping Begins On Billings FO/Pompeys Pillar National Monument RMPs

The Bureau of Land Management's Billings Field Office intends to prepare two Resource Management Plans (RMPs). One plan will be specific to Pompeys Pillar National Monument and the other to the Billings Field Office. The plans will provide future direction for managing BLM-administered public lands in Carbon, Yellowstone, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Musselshell, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and portions of Big Horn counties, Montana, and Pompeys Pillar National Monument. As part of the plan preparation, one environmental impact statement (EIS) will also be prepared.

The Billings RMP will cover about 427,290 acres of federally managed surface and 906,084 acres of federal mineral estate in south-central Montana. The Billings RMP area also includes 6,340 acres of public land inside the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Big Horn County, Wyoming. The lands to be covered under the Pompeys Pillar National Monument RMP are the 51 acres designated as Pompeys Pillar National Monument.

An RMP can be compared to a county master plan where management direction and objectives are defined for specific resources and areas. They address issues including livestock grazing, recreation, wildlife habitat, off-highway vehicle use, camping and even energy and mineral development. The document contains a preferred alternative as well as a range of other management alternatives. Each draft plan includes a draft EIS which analyzes the environmental effects of each planning alternative.

The first phase of plan preparation is the scoping period. During scoping, the public is asked to comment on issues and identify management opportunities to be addressed in the plan. The BLM will hold scoping meetings later this summer at Pompeys Pillar National Monument and in Big Timber, Billings, Bridger, Red Lodge, and Roundup, Montana, and Lovell, Wyoming. The dates and times of those meetings will be announced later.

The BLM encourages public participation early and throughout the process to help it determine the future management of public lands in the area. The formal scoping period will end August 22, 2008; however, comments and input are welcome throughout the planning process.

Written comments should be sent to:
Billings/PPNM RMPs
Billings Field Office
5001 Southgate Drive
Billings, MT 59101
FAX: 406-896-5281

Comments may also be submitted via email to: Billings_PompeysPillar_RMP@blm.gov.

The website for the RMP is http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billi...ld_office.html. For more information, contact Kim Prill, RMP Team Leader, at (406) 896-5199.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.

Thanks in advance for your support,
Brian Hawthorne
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102





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