Elk NetworkWyoming Land Exchange Proposal Aims to Improve Public Access

General | October 21, 2021

The Bureau of Land Management Wyoming joined forces with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Mule Creek Ranch LLC on a proposed land exchange in southeast Wyoming. The exchange could create a 38,000-acre contiguous block of state and BLM administered public lands that would be open for outdoor recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, and hiking.

“There’s a long way to go,” Leah Burgess, RMEF senior conservation program manager, told WyoFile. “We feel it is a real win-win for the public and for wildlife habitat.”

Land exchanges are done on a value for value basis not an acre for acre basis. The BLM identified 35,231 acres of isolated and scattered BLM-administered parcels that could be utilized in various configurations to achieve equalized value for the exchange. The agency has not determined which parcels of BLM administered lands will actually be exchanged or sold at this time.

BLM will conduct a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, which includes public involvement, to determine which BLM parcels from the pool should be considered for exchange. The NEPA process will also demonstrate to the public that the proposed exchange is in compliance with current Resource Management Plans.

(Photo source: Bureau of Land Management)