Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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From the week of January 7th, 2024, here are a few news items from around the Cowboy State:
A nifty story to start out the week appeared in Cowboy State Daily and featured our local Dad’s Bar & Steakhouse in Thayne, Wyoming. Check out the read here!
[Photo credit: John Thompson/Cowboy State Daily] On Wednesday, January 10th, Governor Mark Gordon’s Task Force on the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP) submitted their final report of official consensus comments and recommendations to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Governor Gordon assembled the Task Force (representing diverse Wyoming interests) following public outcry in 2023 over BLM’s recommendation of “Alternative B” as the preferred RMP path forward. Alternative B “emphasizes conservation of resource values with constraints on resource use”. You can read the Star Valley Independent news story on the Task Force’s work here and also read the entire Task Force report here. A few recommendations from the Task Force include maintaining motorized recreation and access on BLM lands, recognizing the historical and current importance of livestock in the region, and protecting key cultural features and natural resources.
The draft RMP released by the BLM Rock Springs Field Office in 2023 will determine how 3.6 million acres of surface estate and mineral rights across 5 Wyoming counties will be managed for the next decade. [I first reported on this topic in my November 5th, 2023 Around the 307 post.]
Also over the past week and since 2024 ushered in, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has experienced some rumblings—earthquakes that is. While seismic activity is expected in the Yellowstone Caldera (one of the world’s largest volcanoes), most Yellowstone earthquakes are magnitude 2.0 or lower, but 3.0 and higher magnitude quakes aren’t uncommon. Since New Year’s Day YNP has seen two 3.1 magnitude tremblers. See all the latest earthquake activity for our region at the University of Utah’s earthquake map.
Lastly, I feel compelled to acknowledge the cold and snowy weather we’ve finally been having. Winter has made her entrance! The past week we’ve seen bitter cold, snow, wind, and even snow squalls—yikes! [For fun, a snow squall is a quick intense burst of snow accompanied by strong gusty winds. They are short-lived and typically last less than 3-hours.] Keep up to date on all the latest winter Wyoming weather by visiting the National Weather Service Riverton webpage or Facebook page.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
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