Wyoming · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Welch Ranch ACEC
BLM found a wildlife resource, a scenic value, a fish resource and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 5 rights of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 1,117 acres and was designated September 21, 2015, in the Buffalo Resource Management Plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
5 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under non-energy facilities, 2 under fiber optic facilities and 1 under distribution line.
- RANGE TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE INC1right of way
- RANGE TELEPHONE COOP INC1right of way
- POWDER RIVER ENERGY CORP1right of way
- 1081 Decker Road, LLC1right of way
- INTERMOUNTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP LLC1right of way
Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Tongue River1,755acres
The nearest areas
- Battle Butte BattlefieldMontana/Dakotas · 237 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it29miles
- Spanish Point Karst ACECWyoming · 11,463 acres · 15 grazing allotments covering part of it46miles
- Brown/Howe Dinosaur ACECWyoming · 5,521 acres · 9 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it48miles
- Five Springs Falls ACECWyoming · 160 acres · 2 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it51miles
- Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite ACECWyoming · 1,795 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it53miles
More from BLM's Wyoming office
Every area BLM's Wyoming office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Welch Ranch ACEC. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026