National Riparian Service Team
3050 NE Third Street - Prineville, Oregon 97754 - PHONE (541) 416-6700 - FAX (541) 416-6798

The purpose of this letter and information packet is to provide a follow-up to the February 9, 2004 meeting of the Green Mountain Common Allotment (GMCA) large working group. This meeting was convened in order to move forward on the Allotment Management Plan (AMP) development schedule outlined by the BLM Lander Field Office in December. The first step of the AMP process was to involve all GMCA permittees and interested publics in the establishment of a diverse, representative, small work group to assist with the development of alternative management actions for the AMP. The decision to move forward with the creation of a small work group was made at the request of various interests who felt that it was important to explore the development of a small working group that could effectively work on the AMP. There was strong agreement among various interests that the large group would not be efficient for continuing the detailed consideration that would result in an improved approach for developing the AMP.

During the February 9th meeting, Bob Whitlock read a letter on behalf of the GMCA permittees. The letter indicated that the permittees did not support the formation of a small work group, and they did not plan to attend any open/public meetings in the future. They requested that the Lander BLM staff consult individually with each permittee regarding the 2004 grazing season and the development of an AMP. The permittees also noted that they plan to form their own work group, made up of individuals who support the livestock industry, to submit comments and suggested management actions into the BLM AMP process.

Following this, meeting facilitators kept participants moving forward exploring the development of a small work group. The hope was to craft a proposal that would meet the needs of all parties involved, while at the same time continuing to work with permittees to re-engage them in the process. Rosemary Benson agreed to draft the first small work group proposal, which was then reviewed and revised by the local planning committee (February 13, 2004). This revised draft was then submitted through Tom Abernathy, John Armstrong and Dick Loper to the GMCA permittees for review (February 24, 2004). The attached note asked for permittee feedback regarding; 1) those aspects of the proposal that they could live with, 2) those aspects that they disagreed with, and 3) suggested changes that would better accommodate the permittees' needs.

On March 1, 2004, the permittees submitted a letter with 13 signatures to the Lander BLM Field Office and the National Riparian Service Team stating that they decided not to participate in the small work group if one was formed. The local planning committee held a conference call on March 5, 2004 to discuss the permittees' response. Recognizing the difficulty of creating allotment management alternatives without the assistance of the permittees, the local planning committee agreed to drop the establishment of a small work group.

Jack Kelly indicated that the Lander BLM staff planned to work individually with each GMCA permittee regarding both the 2004 grazing season and the AMP process. Additional public input would be handled through the traditional NEPA process (e.g., scoping and public comment periods). Dick Loper also noted that he was planning to organize workshops by use areas in order to craft suggested management actions for the AMP process based on issues specific to each area. He is hopeful that the WY Department of Agriculture, the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension, WY Game & Fish and the Popo Agie Conservation District will plan to assist. Both WY Cooperative Extension and the National Riparian Service Team (NRST) are available to work with all parties involved in the development of an AMP.

If you have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to contact the National Riparian Service Team (541-416-6700) or the Lander BLM Field Office (307-332-8400).

Sincerely,

/s/ Laura Van Riper

Laura Van Riper
Social Scientist
National Riparian Service Team

USDI, Bureau of Land Management -- USDA, Forest Service In Partnership With USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service