BLM: No 'crown jewels' in Wyoming

The Wyoming Bureau of Land Management has waved off a request by the Interior Department to list public lands in the state for possible wilderness protection. The state BLM office didn't identify any Wyoming sites as so-called "crown-jewel" BLM-managed areas. The Interior Department will pass along a list of sites identified as "crown jewels" to Congress, which in turn will place them off-limits to most development and human activity. Thursday was the deadline for state BLM directors to send recommendations of "crown-jewel" lands. The reason no Wyoming sites were listed is because neither Gov. Matt Mead nor any of Wyoming's 23 counties recommended any areas, BLM spokeswoman Cindy Wertz said. In letters to the BLM, both Mead and numerous county commissions criticized the "crown jewels" effort, saying removing areas from multiple use would hurt Wyoming's economy. Wyoming's congressional delegation also wrote Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last month to express similar concerns. But 10 conservation groups submitted recommendations of more than 50 sites for the Wyoming BLM to consider for wilderness protection, including the Oregon Buttes and the Big Empty in the Red Desert, the Dubois Badlands in the Wind River Basin and the Sweetwater Canyon in Fremont County. Their proposals will be passed along to Washington as "informational" supplements, Wertz said...more