For Immediate Release
October 22, 2007
EQC to Hold Adobe Town ‘Rare or Uncommon’ Hearings This Week
Contact Information
ROCK SPRINGS – The Wyoming Environmental Quality Council will hold public hearings on a petition to protect the Adobe Town area as ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ October 24th and 25th at the BLM Rock Springs Field Office; public comments and testimony will be taken both days by the Environmental Quality Council. The hearings will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, there will be a brief evening comment session starting at 5 p.m. and running until there are no more commentors, and a third session starting a 9 a.m. if there are commentors present who wish to speak.
Under state regulations, in order to qualify as ‘Very Rare or Uncommon,’ an area must possess one or more of the following attributes: historical or archaeological values, including religious importance; wildlife values, particularly crucial wildlife ranges, falcon or eagle nesting areas, fragile lands, or other irreplaceable wildlife habitat; geological features, particularly fossil resources and unusual or scenic formations; or scenic value, particularly aesthetic values apparent to visitors or values recorded by artists or photographers.
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and 7 other conservation groups submitted the petition to protect approximately 180,000 acres in the area, including a BLM Wilderness Study Area plus adjacent unprotected lands that remain undeveloped, including The Haystacks, a part of the Powder Rim, the wild country at the foot of the Skull Creek Rim, and the Willow Rim. Industry interests who oppose the effort are trying to limit protection to the Wilderness Study Area only, which is already protected from mining activities.
“We encourage everyone who has an opinion about how Adobe Town should be managed in the future to come out and speak at the hearings in Rock Springs,” said Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.
The Very Rare or Uncommon petition can be viewed online at http://deq.state.wy.us/eqc/Docket/07-1101%20Adobe%20Town/07-1101%20Adobe%20Town.htm.
