USDA Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Region
Medicine Bow & Routt National Forests, Thunder Basin National Grassland

NEWS RELEASE

Contact Information

March 20, 2007

Snowy Range Scenic Byway Open House Meetings

Laramie, Wyo. (March 15, 2007) - The public is invited to Open House Meetings with the Medicine Bow National Forest to gather information for the development of a Corridor Management Plan (CMP) for the Snowy Range Scenic Byway.

“The purpose of the meetings is to share information about the CMP process, address ways to balance resource conservation with tourism, gather information related to short- and long-term opportunities for improvements along the byway, and determine the long-term vision for the byway,” said Frank Romero, Acting Laramie District Ranger.

The meetings will be Tuesday, March 27 at the Eppson Center for Seniors, 1560 North 3rd Street, Laramie, WY and Wednesday and March 28 at the Riviera Lodge, 104 East Saratoga, Saratoga, WY. Both meetings will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Open Houses are casual; come when you can, and leave when you want. People from the Brush Creek/Hayden and Laramie Ranger Districts will be available to answer specific questions about the CMP process and to gather public information regarding the development of the CMP. Maps and other information will also be available.

The Snowy Range Scenic Byway is a 27 mile stretch of Highway 130 extending from Centennial to the Medicine Bow National Forest boundary near Ryan Park. This stretch was designated as a National Forest Scenic Byway on August 16, 1988 and was adopted as a State Scenic Byway in 1995.

“The development of a CMP will help guide the future management of the byway and will make it possible for the Forest Service to compete for grants for byway improvements,” Romero said. In 2006, the Forest Service applied for and received funding from the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Federal Highways Administration Scenic Byways program to develop a CMP for the Snowy Range Scenic Byway. Receipt of the funding initiated the process for developing the CMP.

The Forest Service is encouraging interested people to attend the meeting and participate in the management of the Snowy Range Scenic Byway. For more information, please contact Melissa Martin, project leader, at (307) 745-2371. Additional information concerning the development of a CMP for the Snowy Range Scenic Byway is also available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/projects.