JULY 20, 2021 Fremont County DRAFT Natural Resource Management Plan Natural Resource Management Plan Y2 Consultants, LLC & Falen Law Offices (Intentionally Left Blank) CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................III LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................. IV ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................................. V DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................................................................. X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 14 1.1 PREAMBLE ............................................................................................................................................ 14 1.2 PURPOSE .............................................................................................................................................. 14 1.3 STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................. 15 1.4 FREMONT COUNTY NRMP PROCESS ........................................................................................................... 19 1.5 CREDIBLE DATA ...................................................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 2: CUSTOM AND CULTURE ................................................................................................. 24 CHAPTER 3: LAND USE ...................................................................................................................... 33 3.1 LAND USE ............................................................................................................................................. 33 3.2 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND ACCESS......................................................................................................... 40 3.3 SPECIAL DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT AREAS ....................................................................................... 46 3.4 TIMBER RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................ 58 3.5 WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT ......................................................................................................................... 63 3.6 LAND EXCHANGES .................................................................................................................................. 69 CHAPTER 4: GEOLOGY, MINING, AND AIR ......................................................................................... 71 4.1 GEOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................. 71 4.2 SOILS ................................................................................................................................................... 73 4.3 MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES ......................................................................................................... 76 4.4 ENERGY RESOURCES .............................................................................................................................. 81 4.5 AIR QUALITY ......................................................................................................................................... 90 4.6 CLIMATE CHANGE ................................................................................................................................. 91 CHAPTER 5: WATER RESOURCES ....................................................................................................... 93 5.1 WATER RESOURCES OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................. 93 5.2 WATER RIGHTS ..................................................................................................................................... 97 5.3 IRRIGATION AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE ............................................................................................ 99 5.4 DAMS AND RESERVOIRS ....................................................................................................................... 102 5.5 WATER QUALITY ................................................................................................................................. 105 5.6 FLOOD PLAINS .................................................................................................................................... 110 5.7 RIVERS AND STREAMS .......................................................................................................................... 111 5.8 WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN AREAS .......................................................................................................... 118 CHAPTER 6: WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES RESOURCES .......................................................................... 120 6.1 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES ......................................................................................................... 120 6.2 WILDLIFE HABITAT MANAGING AGENCIES ................................................................................................. 121 6.3 WILDLIFE ............................................................................................................................................ 122 6.4 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES/SENSITIVE SPECIES ....................................................................... 137 6.5 FISHERIES............................................................................................................................................ 142 i | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan 6.6 PREDATORS ......................................................................................................................................... 143 6.7 WILD HORSES AND ESTRAY LIVESTOCK ...................................................................................................... 146 CHAPTER 7: SOCIOECONOMICS ...................................................................................................... 152 7.1 TOURISM AND RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS ........................................................................................... 152 7.2 LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE ................................................................................... 154 7.3 CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES .................................................................. 158 7.4 ECONOMIC VIABILITY ........................................................................................................................... 163 CHAPTER 8: AGRICULTURE ............................................................................................................. 175 8.1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 175 8.2 LIVESTOCK GRAZING ............................................................................................................................ 176 8.3 NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEEDS AND PESTS ............................................................................................ 186 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 190 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 204 APPENDIX A. WEBSITE LINKS IN DOCUMENT .................................................................................................. 205 APPENDIX B. NRMP NEXT STEPS MEMO ...................................................................................................... 207 APPENDIX C. STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS .............................................................................................. 208 APPENDIX D. PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED .................................................................................................. 209 ii | P a g e Natural Resource Management Plan LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Vicinity map for Fremont County, Wyoming (data from USGS ESRI in 2020) ............... 26 Figure 2. Fremont County surface management (data from 2020 BLM database). .................... 39 Figure 3. Special designation and management areas within Fremont County. .......................... 57 Figure 4. Fire history within Fremont County (data from ESRI and USGS in 2020). ..................... 68 Figure 5. Fremont County geologic formations (data from USGS in 2019). ................................. 72 Figure 6. Soil type and map units for soils in Fremont County. Data from NRCS Web Soil Survey in 2013. ......................................................................................................................................... 75 Figure 7. Mineral ownership mapped for Fremont County (data from BLM in 2020). ................ 80 Figure 8. Oil and gas production in Fremont County between 1980 and 2020. (Drilling Edge, n.d.) ..............................................................................................................................................