UPDATE: The BLM has extended the deadline for comment through December 18, 2025. A public meeting has been scheduled for December 3, 2025 from 3-6 pm at the Sweetwater Events Complex at 3320 Yellowstone Road, in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
In 2024, the BLM finalized the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan which governs how 3.6 million acres of land is managed. This plan designated 12 new areas of critical environmental concern (ACEC) that total 935,135 acres. It reduced the Killpecker sand dunes special recreation management area (SRMA), and other SRMA’s. The BLM has now opened scoping for an amendment to this RMP to re-evaluate 1.3 million acres of designations within this RMP including 13 Wilderness Study Areas.
When designations like ACECs or WSAs are added or tightened, certain uses such as motorized routes, trail development, facility construction, or access roads may become more constrained or prohibited. Over time, expanded or overly cautious designations can limit recreation, infrastructure maintenance, and other multiple-use activities. The BLM is asking for feedback on the current designations of ACES, WSA’s, SRMA’s and other management areas which you can see in the maps below.
Why the Recreation Community Must Submit Comments
- Defend on-the-ground access. Too often, designations are drawn broadly or sweepingly, resulting in trails, motor routes, or areas of interest being boxed out even where recreational use has existed for years.
- Ensure balanced management. Recreation is a lawful and important public land use. Comments help push BLM toward management plans that recognize recreation as a core use not as an afterthought.
- Prevent creeping closures. Once a designation is formally adopted, it is very difficult to undo or modify even if conditions change. Early input can help limit overreach.
- Shape the planning process. Agencies are legally obligated to consider and respond to public input in planning decisions. Comments that raise key issues such as access, economic impacts, and multiple-use tradeoffs force BLM to reckon with them.
- Support local economies. Outdoor recreation drives tourism, lodging, guiding, and services in many rural communities. Restrictive designations can weaken the economic base these communities rely on.
Comments are accepted through December 18, 2025.
