WASHINGTON–Following widespread condemnation from citizens, officials and sportsmen, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM))has withdrawn 13 parcels totaling approximately 28,500 acres from its Dec. 4 energy lease sale. The 13 parcels, located in southeastern Wyoming’s North Platte Valley, were deferred to allow the agency to update its resource management plan for the region and to address concerns raised by the state of Wyoming.

The area is home to two popular tailwater fisheries: the “Miracle Mile” section of the North Platte below Seminoe Reservoir and the Grey Reef section below Alcova Reservoir.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a conservation coalition that earlier protested the inclusion of these parcels in the lease sale, applauded the BLM action. “The BLM made the right decision regarding the North Platte Valley parcels,” said TRCP Energy Initiative Manager Steve Belinda. “Energy development in the area would have seriously compromised blue-ribbon trout fisheries and crucial big-game winter range, eliminating sporting traditions and irrevocably altering the economy of this part of southeastern Wyoming.”

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, Carbon County and the towns of Encampment, Riverside and Saratoga were among those that opposed the BLM plans to open the area to energy development. A total of 88 formal protests were received for the upcoming lease sale, the bulk of them were for parcels in the Platte Valley.

“Citizens should not have to go to such extreme lengths to defend their livelihoods and quality of life,” said TRCP Field Representative Dwayne Meadows. Meadows, who grew up in Saratoga and has hunted and fished in the region since childhood, worked to inform residents about the BLM development plans for the valley.