Natural resource plan ready for public comment

A management plan for Crook County’s natural resources is now ready for public scrutiny and the comment period will remain open for the next month, with public meetings planned at the end of September. The plan has been in development since April under the guidance of Y2 Consultants and a six-person steering committee.

A Natural Resource Management Plan is intended as a tool for a local government – in this case the Crook County Commissioners – to have an impact on federal decisions, plans, policies and programs. The plan will include an assessment of the county’s resources at the current time and will also outline what the county wants to achieve on its public lands.

This can be used when working with public land agencies such as BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

According to Bree Burton of Y2 Consultants, a plan of this nature can play a key role when it comes to a local government successfully engaging as a cooperative agency or with consistency review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

It can perform the same function when coordinating under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) or National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and assists with the governor’s consistency review.

The county commissioners appointed a steering committee to work with Y2 Consultants on in April, consisting of Wanda Burget, Spencer Cherry, Andrew Litzel, Jeffery Smith II, Ronald Vore and Skip Waters. The purpose of the committee was to assist in developing the plan as representatives from the community.

At this time, says Burton, the draft version of the plan is ready to be released for public comment and will be available on the Crook County website. Hard copies will also be available at the Crook County Clerk’s Office, the libraries in Sundance, Hulett and Moorcroft, Pine Haven Town Hall and the Crook County Natural Resource District office.

Y2 Consultants now wants to gather community input and also provide information about the plan and its purpose. To do this, the consultants will be hosting meetings in Hulett and Sundance on September 29.

The Hulett meeting will take place at Town Hall at 11 a.m., while the Sundance meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the courthouse. The public comment period will remain open until October 15; either submit your comment to the County Clerk’s Office or send them via email to [email protected].