BLM delays opening of Green Mountain and Shoshone Lake roads
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LANDER, Wyo. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lander Field Office announced today that it will delay the opening of Green Mountain, including the Cottonwood Campground, and the Shoshone Lake Road due to recent heavy precipitation and snowmelt. The BLM is committed to ensuring safe access to public lands.
"There is just too much snow, standing water and mud to open these roads at the moment,” said BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Jared Oakleaf. “It looks like April up there.”
Several roads and campsites in the Green Mountain area are under water, snow or both. The delay in opening is necessary to allow large snow drifts to melt and the roadbeds to dry. Given the weather forecast, Oakleaf anticipates sufficient drying will allow the BLM to open the roads by June 28.
The Green Mountain and Shoshone Lake areas close on an annual basis for public safety and resource protection. The closure normally runs from early December through the middle of June but this year, by keeping the roads closed a little bit longer, the BLM can avoid costly repairs to damaged roadbeds resulting from travel on saturated roads.
For more information, please contact the Lander Field Office at 307-332-8400. Follow BLM Wyoming at www.facebook.com/BLMWyoming/ and https://twitter.com/BLMWyoming for updates on road closures and repairs.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.