Vol. 1, Issue 9

The Bureau of Land Management Releases the

Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing a “Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation” (Blueprint) intended to guide investments, partnerships, outreach, and program development to respond to current demand and chart a course to meet future needs.

The Blueprint presents several major shifts in how the agency prioritizes and supports outdoor recreation. The BLM is committed to durable change, which means it must work closely with communities and partners to respond to varying recreation opportunities and pressures and seek continuous program improvements. Another principle of change is a shift from reactive recreation management to a proactive approach, enabling planning to consider sustainable resource management needs.

Importantly, the Blueprint advances the “U.S. Department of the Interior Equity Action Plan” and builds on prior work through the “Connecting with Communities: BLM Recreation Strategy,” offering a new path forward that promotes equitable access to outdoor recreation opportunities, while conserving, protecting, and enhancing BLM’s one-of-a-kind resources and experiences.

As part of this Blueprint, BLM has established a new vision to proactively manage for exceptional and one-of-a-kind recreational experiences that invite all to share in the enjoyment and stewardship of their public lands and waters. The Blueprint vision includes four strategic pillars. Each pillar outlines desired outcomes, core strategies, and partnership success stories. The BLM believes these pillars will serve as the foundation for successful recreation management in the 21st century.

1. Grow and Diversify Resources for BLM Recreation

2. Prioritize and Embrace Partnerships

3. Expand Outreach and Establish a Culture of Inclusion

4. Meet the Demand, Protect Resources, and Improve Access

(An excerpt from the BLM's Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation, Executive Summary, 2023)

View the BLM's Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation

Deadline Approaching

Organization of the Month

Sundance Chain Gang

Mountain Bike Association

NEWORC

Founded in 2004, Sundance Chain Gang Mountain Bike Association (SCGMBA) promotes responsible mountain biking. Members work toward the goals of access and natural resource protection through interaction with the policy makers and the cycling industry.

SCGMBA promotes racing to be inclusive of bikers and other trail users. They represent all levels of riders. Their passion for cycling, trail riding and trail stewardship brings them together as a collective voice. They move forward to give more access to cyclists by building and maintaining the area's trails.

The Sundance Chain Gang has used cycling events and fundraising to keep the group moving forward. They were the first to promote groomed fat biking and groomed trail riding in the Black Hills National Forest and secured fat biking access on snowmobile trails in the Wyoming Black Hills. They have successfully planned and built trail networks on Sundance's White Ranch. All trails are approved by the governing body of land managers and built sustainably.

In the next year, the Sundance Chain Gang is looking forward to increasing their trail presence in the Wyoming Black Hills as well as sustainably improving and repairing damage to existing trails caused by higher than normal precipitation. They are working with the Forest Service to connect the Whitetail Trail to the Sundance Trail to offer a brand new singletrack loop for the area's cyclists.

What is the Sundance Chain Gang up to?

Featured Business

The Malt Burger Bar, Saratoga

SWORC

The Malt is part old-fashioned hamburger stand and part outdoor enthusiast hangout. Located near the North Platte river in Saratoga, this culinary staple of the community is a popular stop for paddlers and fisherman, who are angling for one of their boozy milkshakes.

The Malt is a quick-serve burger bar and beer hall that offers you delicious burger and chicken sandwich options. The Malt has a full bar featuring world-famous old fashioneds and house made margaritas, not to mention the 200+ whiskeys from around the world. The Malt is family friendly and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. Adventurers are welcome to dine with their four legged friends on the deck or grass seating area while enjoying a view of the river.

Customers of The Malt are frequently families and folks that have been out adventuring on the river or mountains all day, and need a quick meal in a comfortable spot. Travelers often come to Saratoga and the surrounding area for quick access to the North Platte River, the Encampment River, the Snowy Range, and the Sierra Madres.

The Malt supports outdoor recreation by providing these travelers with a restaurant that sits in the middle of all of those stunning places. The Malt also hosts outdoor yoga on the lawn. Earlier this month the Malt Burger Bar was at the 307 Mud Rally serving burgers from the "Fire Truck" food truck.

In addition to running the restaurant and food truck, owners McCall and Danny serve on the Southeast Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaborative, and have recently designed the Collaborative's popular logo.

Learn more about The Malt

Meet the Advisors

Brooks Jordan, PCORC & BBORC

Who is your employer? Wyoming State Parks, District Manager

Which Outdoor Recreation Collaborative(s) do you advise? Bighorn Basin Outdoor Recreation Collaborative and Park County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative

Why do you love your job? I love my job because I get to help facilitate enjoyable outdoor experiences for people and promote stewardship of our natural and cultural resources.

What are 3 ways you support outdoor recreation through your work? 1) Collaboration with community stakeholders and our visitors 2) Promoting stewardship and responsible outdoor recreation through education, interpretive efforts, and contributing to policy and best practices in Wyoming. 3) Working directly with other park staff to ensure our visitors have an outstanding outdoors experience.

What are some projects you are currently working on? I'm currently working on the Buffalo Bill State Park master plan, the Bighorn River Blueway Trail project, and some concession improvement opportunities at Hot Springs State Park. I'm also excited to be working on expanding our State Park employee professional development opportunities, including participating in our new internal mentorship program.

How and with whom do you like to spend your free time? I really enjoy spending time outdoors with my family. We hunt, fish, paddle, hike and camp together.

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know? I was named after the brook trout.

What is a place you love to visit in Wyoming to visit, and why? 1) The Bighorn Mountains, because they're close and relatively uncrowded 2) Cody, WY in the fall/winter. There's a lot to enjoy including the Buffalo Bill Center of The West and some great outdoor/sporting goods shops. 3) Anywhere on the water!

Collaborative Member Spotlight

Jeff Grant, BBORC

Who is your employer, and what is your official job title? I sold my company in April of this year!

What organizations and clubs do you participate in? I am on the Board of Directors of the Antelope Butte Foundation and I am co-owner of Shell Recreation Developement, LLC

Why is outdoor recreation important to you? It's important to me for many reasons, but I'll focus on just two: 1. It's critical that our children learn to appreciate the outdoors at an early age and they also get to experience everything that outdoor recreations brings: health, fellowship, personal pride that comes from learning to do something, etc. A family spending time together outside provides rewards and benefits that are incalculable. 2. Outdoor Recreation is critical to the State of Wyoming as we work to diversify our state and own businesses away from their dependency on fossil fuels, and we look to other sources of State revenue and to other income streams.

How do you spend your time outdoors? In the winter, I love to snowboard and to teach snowboarding; in the summer, I like to ride my mountain bike, hike in the Big Horns, fly fish, and water ski.

What are your 3 favorite outdoor recreation areas/trails in Wyoming? The Bench Trail in Shell Canyon (anywhere in the Big Horns), Glendo State Park, and the trails to either Lost Twin Lakes or Lake Helen from West Tensleep Lake Campground.

Why did you choose to join the Outdoor Recreation Collaborative? I joined because I thought it would be a good way for us to develop the trail network NE of Shell, but the friends and contacts I've made while being a part of BBORC have been invaluable to me.

Do you have any project advice for other Collaborative Members in Wyoming? First and foremost, talk to you fellow Collaborative members and get their feedback early in the planning stages of your project. Most projects, especially trail development, take more time that you think they will. Listen and find out what others need in order to help you with your project (What do State or Federal agencies need from your project in order to meet their mission and allow them to help? What do individuals need in order to get excited about assisting with your project?). Seek help from others who have done what you're trying to do, even if they're in a neighboring State; they probably have good advice. Finding funding is tough, but the State of Wyoming (the WBC and the Outdoor Recreation Office particularly) is beginning to step up to help with good projects. Dream Big!!

Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaboratives

The Northeast Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaborative is growing! with recent membership additions from the Upton Gun Club and local motorized users, NEWORC continues to build their membership to include a wide variety of outdoor interests. Both the Bent Sprockets and Sundance Chain Gang Mountain Bike Clubs have been hard at work this summer, producing epic riding events in one of the most scenic areas of our state- the Wyoming Black Hills. These events draw participants from South Dakota, and showcase the trail systems that are built and maintained by Collaborative members. The Collaborative has been working to strengthen the relationships between the local outdoor recreation users and Federal agencies such as the US Forest Service and the BLM. These relationships are incredibly important to project success in the area. Collaborative members in Gillette continue to pursue the possibility of expanding the Red Rock Trails to include a bike park and more varied terrain for all skill levels. The Collaborative also supports programming at Keyhole State Park, such as paddle in the Park.

Check out the Wyoming Black Hills

The Park County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative is making progress on several projects. The Powell Boat Ramp has been completed. This project was funded by Wyoming Outdoor Recreation with in-kind support from local businesses and community members. The Powell Economic Partnership created community promotional materials that were distributed by volunteers. During a clean-up last summer, graffiti was painted over and trash cleaned up. There will be a ribbon cutting at the boat ramp on Sept 27th at noon. There will be photo opportunities and food provided. Additionally, the Project Process Subcommittee has been working on a document that explains the process of getting a project completed on federal land, which is nearly finished. The multi-use Outlaw Trails project continues to move forward. Now that the 30-day public comment period has closed, a Planning and Environmental Specialist from the State BLM Office will review the comments to see if any further analysis is necessary. PCORC continues to support the Outlaw Trails as a multi-use area.

Outlaw Trails Environmental Assesment

The Bighorn Basin Outdoor Recreation Collaborative would like to give a shout out and a big thank you to all of the agency partners that attended the Bighorn Blueway float last month. Melissa Higley, Rick Tryder, Zach Cowfer and Vista intern Bradly Jackson all attended from the Cody BLM Office. Wyoming Department of Transportation was represented by Pete Hallstan and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department had Matt Lentsch and his family join the float. Lelia Mellons and Darin Martins from the National Park Service, Rivers, Trails and Conservation Program traveled from neighboring states to see what the Bighorn River had to offer. Christy Fleming from the National Park Service missed the float due to another event, but joined us at Greybull City Park to share information with the crowd about the Bighorn Blueway Project. Kiran Darai from the Park County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative made the trip from Cody to support this event. Having agency partners actively involved in the Collaborative helps to push existing projects through and helps to gauge interest and feasibility of new projects.

Community River Float in the News

Sweetwater County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative: At the September meeting, collaborative members were introduced to Matthew Podolinsky with the National Forest Foundation. He explained what the organization is currently working on in the Wyoming side of the Ashley National Forest. He also discussed future work, and how SCORC can collaborate with the National Forest Foundation. There was discussion about future grant opportunities for the Buckboard Marina on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Lauren Hazzard with the Bureau of Land Management gave an overview of the Draft Resource Management Plan that recently opened for public comment. They also explained how to submit a helpful and constructive comment on the website, where and when public meetings will be held, and answered questions. Collaborative members greatly appreciated this opportunity to better understand how the process works and have the time for questions. Numerous topics were discussed during Word on the Street including county updates, club/organization updates, and survey reminders.

Submit a comment about the Draft Resource Management Plan

Wind River Outdoor Recreation Collaborative:

The September meeting had an incredibly packed agenda. Attendees heard from Mike Kusiek, Executive Director of Wyoming Pathways, about the Riverton Pathways Improvement Project. The Collaborative will soon vote to submit a letter of support for the project to the city of Riverton. Next, subcommittee updates were provided and discussed. During this time, the Collaborative was updated on the Sunnyside Trail project n Sinks Canyon State Park. Justin Iskra with WyoClimbers talked about the massive success of the 2023 International Climbers Festival and other organization updates. Forrest Kamminga with the Wyoming State Trails Program updated WRORC on the challenges of the Government Draw area and invited everyone to a Clean-Up Day on September 30th to celebrate National Public Lands Day. To conclude the meeting, Paul Rau with the Shoshone National Forest gave an overview of the new SNF Fee Proposal, explained how to submit a comment, and answered questions from Collaborative members.

Learn more about the Shoshone National Forest Fee Proposal here

The Natrona County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative: There are many successes to celebrate in Natrona County. First, the Hell's Half Acre subcommittee presented at the most recent County Commission meeting, and received full support from the County's Commissioners to move forward to re-open the Hell's Half Acre Recreation area for dispersed hiking. The full plan includes improvements to the road, removal of fencing, and repair of the existing picnic shelters. Opening the currently closed area will allow access to hikers who would like to personally check out the one-of-a-kind geological features that were shared with the world in the movie, "Starship Troopers". NCORC recently had their first subcommittee meeting to discuss the possibility of making the Casper College/Mike Sedar/Yesness corridor a hub for biking in Casper. The subcommittee discussed trails, a bike park, and some skills features that could exist in the area. Next steps will be determined by the Central Wyoming Trails Alliance, with support from the Natrona County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative.

Hell's Half Acre in the News

Southeast Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaborative: The Collaborative met at the beginning of September and had a productive meeting. The Collaborative is voting for a letter of support to submit comments to the Medicine Bow Routt National Forest Fee Proposal. The WYOREC staff will be working to collect updated signatures for the SWORC Charter during this time as well. Subcommittee changes were proposed to help clarify the projects. The Highway 130 Winter Recreation subcommittee will focus on the winter recreation/parking challenges, and the Scenic Byway/Backway Recreation subcommittee. will work to establish a Snowy Range Scenic Byway with the Federal Highway Administration. The latter portion of the meeting included a slideshow presentation and discussion of Roger Canyon, North of Laramie. This recreation area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. There is an opportunity for the Collaborative to participate in a site visit, generate ideas for the area, and form a subcommittee to help protect and shape the future of the area.

What is a Scenic Byway?

In the News

Donate to Fight Hunger

With hunting season approaching, our friends at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department are collaborating with the Wyoming Hunger Initiative to connect those in need with harvested game. Hunters know the value of Wyoming’s wildlife and their harvested big game and there’s no better way to share the bounties of our state than sharing it with those who need it the most. Hunters interested in donating their harvested big game animal to help fight hunger in Wyoming can easily donate their meat to Food from the Field — a statewide partnership focused on building a sustainable future fighting hunger.

Learn More About Donataing Your Harvested Game