To Ms. Hudgens-Williams:
Please accept this timely protest of the Bureau of Land Management’s Tres Rios Field Office Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMP). We note that the deadline for protesting the Tres Rios PRMP was extended to November 7, 2013, due to the federal government shutdown during the protest period. This protest is submitted by the following protestants:
- The Wilderness Society
- San Juan Citizens Alliance
- Rocky Mountain Wild
- National Parks Conservation Association
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Park Rangers for Our Lands
- Earthworks
- Sheep Mountain Alliance
The protestants have and will continue to participate in the planning process for the Tres Rios RMP. Our organizations submitted comments on the Draft Land Management Plan in 2008 and collaborated on the Supplemental EIS comments in 2011, including submitting a Master Leasing Plan proposal. See, e.g., Joint comments on the San Juan Draft Land Management Plan/EIS (attached as Exhibits A to C).
This protest is filed in accordance with 43 C.F.R. § 1610.5-2 and addresses the following issues:
- Inadequate NEPA Analysis and Public Comment Opportunity………. p. 5
- Lands with Wilderness Characteristics…………………………………………. p. 6
- Areas of Critical Environmental Concern………………………………………. p. 17
- Gunnison Sage-Grouse…………………………………………………………………. p. 22
- Oil and Gas Management …………………………………………………………….. p. 25
- Travel Management……………………………………………………………………… p. 36
Our discussion of each of these issues concisely states why we believe the State Director’s decisions are wrong and the corresponding portions of the PRMP at issue, as well as our requested remedy for each issue addressed.