Public comment on Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway plan due Sept. 30

— September 3, 2013

(Press release) The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Department of Transportation invites the public to comment on draft sections of the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan (CMP). The deadline for written comments is September 30, 2013. The plan is tentatively scheduled to be complete by the end of the year.

A second round of public meetings on the CMP was held in Riverton and Shoshoni in late July.  The goal of the meetings was to gather public input on items and issues that should be addressed along the corridor as well as create a priority list of items that need to be Participants agreed that the first priority will focus on safety in the canyon by improving communication along the corridor and addressing rockfall. The second priority is preservation, which will include graffiti cleanup, keeping the aesthetics of the canyon and education about the rich history of the byway. The third priority is funding for improvements.

Draft sections of the CMP are posted on the Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation website www.hsglf.org and County 10 www.county10.com. Additional sections about marketing the plan, ensuring ongoing public participation, and interpretive plans are also being prepared.

The Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway is Highway 20, between Shoshoni and Thermopolis, through the Wind River Indian Reservation. The CMP is a grassroots-level participation project, with support from the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes , Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Federal Highways Administration, in which local desires and issues are documented to serve as a general planning guide for state-designated scenic byways.

Please review and send any comments, edits or suggestions in writing to Susan Springer at [email protected]. For further information: Marty Rozelle, Public Involvement Manager, (602) 224.0847; [email protected] or Howard Brown, Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes Division of Transportation, (307) 335.7669.