LYMAN — Rep. Scott Heiner, HD 18, made a recent presentation at the Lyman Town Hall where he decried BLM’s Alternate B for the resource center in Sweetwater County and for the NAC’s proposal by the Security Exchange Commission.

Heiner is the state representative for Western Sweetwater County, South Lincoln County and Northwest Uinta County, which encompasses Bear River and the area north of Evanston.

He prefaced his remarks to those who attended the meeting with, “You guys are my heroes…you are here because you care…I respect and honor you.” He noted the participants could have stayed home, stayed in where it was warm and watched TV, but their cares and concerns over the proposed BLM plan, Alternate B, and the Security Exchange proposal to let Natural Resource Companies buy conservation easement through the New York Stock Exchange as threats to not only Wyoming but the United States.

Heiner related a story of 1780 where it grew very dark in New England due to smoke covering the area. He said George Washington was leading his troops in the Civil War, and his troops wanted to go home because they thought the end of the world was near. In addition, some Legislators wanted to go home, but Legislator Abraham Davenport said, “I prefer to be found doing my duty.”

Heiner added, “Let us all be found doing our duty.” He also noted the strength of Wyoming, and its residents by ending his presentation with a “Wyoming Strong” slide.

He talked about no one working on the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RSRMP) lived in Wyoming. He said it was all Washington D. C. The BLM workers in Wyoming are “good. This is all being driven by Washington D. C.”

He noted there were the four proposals – A, B, C, D – but Washington had decided B was the one that should be enacted. This happened after the change of administration as under the Trump Administration D, multiple use, was the plan being pursued. This policy was developed in 1960 and approved by Congress, which provided for multiple use. About a year ago, BLM added the conservation aspect to the policy. The current plan being utilized was adopted in 2007. Then in 2019, under Trump the policy was to include more resource development. Then COVID hit and the U. S. administration changed. According to Heiner, the change implemented by BLM under President Biden is, “…not following any science. It is following politics…politics only.”

Alternate B will shut down all coal development in the area, whose income is used for Wyoming schools and other entities. He said this also eliminates about 50,000 acres of trona reserves. In addition, it has now been discovered there are additional trona resources north of existing mining area. However, this will stop the development of these areas even though the work would be underground.

Heiner said a lot of this push is from the United Nations Biodiversity Plan, which they proposed in 1992 and showed a map of the plan in which much of the United States had no people population.

He also distinguished between wilderness areas and wild land areas. Wilderness areas, according to Heiner, have never been distorted. Wild Lands go back to what they were before being utilized.

Heiner also addressed the Natural Asset Companies (NACs) saying this type of proposal usually has a 90-day comment period. This was set up with a 25-day comment period over the holidays.

He explained this is a proposal of the Security Exchange Commission to let NACs buy conservation easements across American through the New York Stock Exchange. He said the proposal is to allow companies “to acquire water and natural resources and restrict activities on those lands, private and public. One they have control, they can prohibit sustainable activity.”