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Interior Department Sued

Submitted by ErickPauley on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 10:51

Three conservation groups are suing the U.S. Interior Department over a plan to open the Fortification Creek area in northeast Wyoming to coal-bed methane development. The Bureau of Land Management has approved phased development starting this year. The National Wildlife Federation joined in the lawsuit with two Wyoming groups - the Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Wyoming Outdoor Council. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The Fortification Creek area consists of about 100,000 acres in Campbell, Johnson and Sheridan counties. It is home to a rare prairie elk herd and large areas of steep slopes and sensitive soils.

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Rugwell Takes BLM Job

Submitted by ErickPauley on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 10:48

The Bureau of Land Management has chosen a Cheyenne native to be the new associate state director for BLM Wyoming. BLM Wyoming State Director Don Simpson said Wednesday that Mary Jo Rugwell plans to report to the Wyoming state office in late August. He says Rugwell has an extensive background in management, renewable resources, wild horses, oil and gas, grazing, fire and recreation. Rugwell most recently was a district manager for the BLM's southern Nevada district office. She began her BLM career in 1984 at the Wyoming State Office in Cheyenne in the fluid minerals branch.

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Fire Update

Submitted by ErickPauley on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 10:47

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming High Desert District (HDD), in coordination with BLM Colorado, Carbon County, Wyo., and Moffat County, Colo., is fighting the Willow wildfire approximately 15 miles southeast of Baggs, Wyo. 

The wildfire was first reported at 2:30 p.m. on June 19; the cause is under investigation. The fire began in Wyoming and crossed into Colorado, burning an estimated 750 to 800 acres of juniper, sagebrush and grass in rolling terrain. Firefighters initiated structure protection on two mobile homes and a barn but no evacuations were ordered.