BLM Plans for Public Lands Use vs Sage Grouse Released

Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released final environmental reviews for land use plans in Montana that will help to conserve greater sage-grouse habitat and support sustainable economic development. The land management plans, developed during the past three years in partnership with the state and with input from local partners, will benefit wildlife, outdoor recreation, ranching and other traditional land uses that rely on a healthy sagebrush landscape.

The updated Montana plans are an essential element of an unprecedented and proactive strategy to respond to the deteriorating health of the American West’s sagebrush landscapes and declining population of the greater sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The collaborative federal-state effort includes three key elements to conserve the sagebrush landscape, which faces threats from fire, invasive species and encroaching development: a comprehensive strategy to fight rangeland fire, strong conservation plans for federal public lands, and conservation actions on state and private lands.

“The West is rapidly changing – with increasingly intense wildfires, invasive species and development altering the sagebrush landscape and threatening wildlife, ranching and our outdoor heritage,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “As land managers of two-thirds of greater sage-grouse habitat, we have a responsibility to take action that ensures a bright future for wildlife and a thriving western economy. Together with conservation efforts from states and private landowners, we are laying an important foundation to save the disappearing sagebrush landscape of the American West.”

“Federal and state governments and private landowners recognize that a healthy sagebrush landscape means a healthy western economy,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “We are working with local partners to design innovative, long-term conservation plans. Together, we can put effective conservation measures in place that not only benefit the greater sage-grouse, but also preserve the western way of life, help improve grazing lands and bolster rural economies.”

The Proposed Resource Management Plans and Final Environmental Impact Statements for the Billings Field Office and Pompeys Pillar National Monument, the HiLine District, and the Miles City Field Office and an amendment to the existing resource management plans administered by the Lewistown Field Office will guide land management on approximately 5.9 million acres of BLM-administered surface land in Montana. The final EISs are the result of a robust, multi-year public process, including public scoping sessions, public meetings and public comment periods on the draft EISs. The plans are now undergoing a 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review period and concurrent 30-day protest period, after which Records of Decisions will be signed.

Lands managed by the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service in the area around Dillon, Montana are covered in the Idaho and Southwest Montana Proposed Plan Amendment/FEIS also released today.

The plans address issues identified by the Service in a 2010 determination that found the greater sage-grouse was deserving of protection under the ESA due to the inadequacy of regulatory protections to prevent further sagebrush habitat fragmentation, placing the bird in danger of extinction. Federal protection was deferred because of higher priorities; however, the Service is required to revisit the determination by September 30, 2015.

With the shared goal of taking actions to avoid the need to list the bird, in 2011, then-Secretary Ken Salazar and western governors, led by Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, formed the Sage-Grouse Task Force to develop a cooperative approach to conserving the species across the West.

The plans provide a layered management approach that offers the highest level of protection in the most valuable habitat, known as Priority Habitat Management Areas. Within priority habitat, the plans seek to limit or eliminate new surface disturbance, particularly in Sagebrush Focal Areas, identified by the Service as “stronghold” areas essential for the species’ survival. The plans seek to minimize disturbance in General Habitat Management Areas, which are lands that require some special management to sustain greater sage-grouse populations, but are not considered as important as priority habitat.

In Montana, the plans identify 3.2 million acres as general habitat and 3.9 million acres as priority habitat. Within priority habitat, 980,400 acres have been identified as Sagebrush Focal Areas.

Each of the three Resource Management Plans and the Lewistown Field Office plan amendment seek to reduce surface disturbance of Greater Sage-Grouse habitat from oil and gas and geothermal development while recognizing valid, existing rights. Each plan prioritizes future leasing and development outside of Priority and General Habitat Management Areas, and restricts surface disturbance associated with new federal leases in Sagebrush Focal Areas and Priority Habitat Management Areas.

Grazing in Montana is not widely identified as a threat to the Greater Sage-Grouse. Grazing will continue under existing permits. Locally developed management objectives related to Greater Sage-Grouse and rangeland health standards and will be utilized in permit modifications and renewals.

“We will continue to work with our state and local partners with the shared goal of establishing strong science-based management and conservation commitments across the range of the bird that allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to conclude the protections of the Endangered Species Act are not needed for the greater sage-grouse,” said BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director Jamie Connell.

Importantly, the plans honor all valid, existing rights, including those for oil and gas development, renewable energy, rights-of-way, locatable minerals, and other permitted projects. The plan measures only apply to BLM and USFS-managed lands and minerals.

Over the last four years, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its partners in the Sage-Grouse Initiative have worked with more than 1,100 private landowners to restore 4.4 million acres of habitat for sage-grouse while maintaining working landscapes.

More than 350 other species rely on a healthy sagebrush habitat, including elk, mule deer, pronghorn and golden eagles. Greater sage-grouse habitat currently covers 165 million acres across 11 states in the West, representing a loss of 56 percent of the species’ historic range. At one time, the greater sage-grouse population likely numbered in the millions, but is estimated to have dwindled to 200,000 to 500,000 birds range-wide.

BLM Resource Management Plans guide future land management actions and subsequent site-specific implementation decisions. These decisions establish the desired outcomes of resource management and the measures needed to achieve these goals and objectives

The final EISs incorporate Resource Management Plan Revisions for Billings, Lewistown and Miles City Filed Field Offices, the HiLine District and Pompeys Pillar National Monument. The BLM worked with cooperating agencies and the State of Montana to develop the range of alternatives analyzed and to develop the final EIS.

Any person who participated in the planning process for these proposed plans and has an interest which is or may be adversely affected by a plan, may protest approval of the proposed plan during the 30-day protest period. The protest period runs through June 29, 2015. Submit protest issues using the following methods:

Regular Mail:

BLM Director (210)

Attention: Protest Coordinator

P.O. Box 71383

Washington, D.C. 20024-1383

Overnight Delivery:

BLM Director (210)

Attention: Protest Coordinator

20 M Street SE, Room 2134LM

Washington, D.C. 20003

– www.blm.gov/mt –

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.

Source: BLM/Montana Dakotas Montana State Office

Image source: Pathfinder Wind Energy

BLM Plans for Public Lands Use vs Sage Grouse Released

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