JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau | Posted: Wednesday, October 1, 2003 12:00 am
GREEN RIVER - Someone needs to look after a thousand acres of public lands scattered along the Snake River near Jackson Hole, federal officials say.
In a new environmental study, the Bureau of Land Management hopes that a governmental entity or private groups will acquire, or take over management responsibility of the various parcels of river real estate - with the understanding that the group retain and maintain the lands for public access, recreation use, open spaces and wildlife habitat.
The BLM's Proposed Plan outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Snake River Resource Management Plan (RMP) said the goal would be to transfer the lands within 15 years.
The documents are available on the agency's Web site ( http://www.wy.blm.gov ).
The FEIS examined a variety of management scenarios, ranging from selling the land outright for development, to protecting it for recreation use or increased mineral use.
The land parcels include approximately 1,073 acres of BLM-administered land surface along the Snake River. They also includes 15,123 acres of BLM-administered federal mineral estate underlying privately owned surface lands in Jackson Hole.
The document's preferred alternative provides for the transfer of the BLM parcels to another public land-management agency, or to other public or government entities. The BLM would retain all mineral rights and mineral management.
The FEIS said because of the small size, irregular shape and scattered nature of the BLM parcels - and their distance from the BLM's Pinedale Field Office - they are difficult and costly for the BLM to manage. The document said the BLM has received many requests from adjacent private landowners interested in purchasing the parcels.
BLM planning and environmental specialist Kellie Roadifer said the BLM believes that agencies or public entities could be found to accept ownership or management of the parcels, located mostly near the town of Jackson in Teton County.
"There is some interest, it's not huge, but there is some," Roadifer said.
"I don't think we'll do any mass effort to try and dispose of all the parcels at once," she said. "I think we'll get some initial interest from government agencies that have an interest in specific parcels and then it's going to take longer for the rest of them."
Tom Darin, the new public lands director for the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, said "given the options, the parcels' locations and the administrative realities in Pinedale - we think they've come up with a pretty workable solution here."
He said it makes sense to keep the transfers to government and other public entities and not to private developers. "That obviously will go a long way to preserving a lot of the (wildlife, scenic and recreation) values out there," Darin said.
The acquisition of the parcels by any entity should be tied to restrictions that preserve the multiple uses and wildlife, scenic and recreational values, he said.
"We'd like to see in the Record of Decision (ROD) some more guidance provided … for the protection of wildlife and open spaces, given the bald eagle and the limited open spaces that remain around Jackson and in Teton County," Darin said.
"This is all great on paper, but what's really going to matter is the day-to-day management" of the land once management is transferred to another entity, he said.
"Hopefully, the BLM will - when it makes these dispositions of the parcels - make sure some sort of system is in place for the daily oversight, maintenance and cleanup of these parcels," Darin said. "We're talking about campsites and access trails and other infrastructure and somebody's got to be in charge of that."
The public lands along the Snake River are currently accessible, with no fees charged for recreation activities. They are used by county residents and people from surrounding counties, including Sublette County to the south, for high-quality recreation.
The study said recreational use on the public lands is growing, with the result that some parcels are experiencing crowding and associated resource problems - such as declines in the quality of recreational experiences and increases in noxious weeds.
In addition, the document said unregulated commercial float outfitting is occurring, leading to concerns about overcrowding and the health and safety of river users.
David Ellerstein, owner of Jackson Hole Anglers, said no other lands along the Snake River in Teton County provide the type of river access for the public these parcels do.
"We use the area everyday, multiple times a day … (mainly) the Wilson bridge and the Southpark bridge … it's beautiful, there's eagles flying around, cutthroat trout and mountain views," he said.
Ellerstein said his business has a BLM permit to operate from those parcels and he wondered about the permitting process should the lands be transferred.
"We're permitted on, and float on, BLM land and we're not set up with say the Forest Service or Park Service," Ellerstein said. "If the lands transferred to say the Forest Service, then that could put a lot of people out of business all of a sudden if (the service) only allows people who have current forest service contracts to operate. For us and a lot of other outfitters in the valley … we'd love it if those of us who are currently operating on BLM lands will be allowed to continue to operate."
The FEIS said the BLM has plans to intensively manage recreation use in the interim prior to parcel disposal, unless another agency partner could be found to take the lead in a recreation management effort.
The majority of river floating activity occurs during the warmest months following the high flows of early summer snowmelt. The only developed boating access on the public lands is the Wilson Bridge boat ramp. That access includes a gravel ramp for boat launches, a parking area and restrooms.
Roadifer said a public review and comment period and a concurrent 30-day protest period for the FEIS will expire Nov. 3. Comments should be mailed to the Pinedale Field Office, Team Leader, P. O. Box 768, Pinedale, Wy 82941.
"After the protest period is over … any protests we get will be resolved at the Washington office level and then we'll write the ROD," she said.