Governor Mark Gordon has responded to the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a management plan for old-growth forests. Governor Gordon ,Wyoming State Agencies, counties, and conservation districts have engaged heavily with the Forest Service on this proposal. In addition, Governor Gordon joined five other Republican Governors in sending a letter criticizing federal agencies that created the plan for not addressing state concerns.

“The Old Growth amendment was an unworkable attempt to amend a large number of Management Plans using a single Environmental Impact Statement developed on an unrealistic timeline,” Governor Gordon said. “This top-down approach never properly took into account local public input and initially excluded counties and conservation districts as cooperating agencies.  I want to thank Wyoming’s counties and conservation districts for their willingness to partner with the state to ensure Wyoming’s voices were heard in this proposal, and I look forward to improved collaboration with the USDA and Forest Service with the incoming administration.”