The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to revise its management plans for greater sage-grouse habitat across the West.
The changes would affect BLM-managed public lands in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Amendments are intended to ensure responsible habitat stewardship while making more public land available for energy development and mining, according to the agency.
The plans update the Biden administration’s proposal released in November, which was not finalized before President Donald Trump began his second term earlier this year. The Biden plan proposed tightening restrictions on oil and gas, and mineral and clean energy development. The Trump administration’s proposal will instead ease restrictions.
“These changes were made in response to issues raised during the protest period and governor’s consistency review process, and to ensure that this planning effort complies with the BLM’s most current policy,” the agency wrote in the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendments (RMPA).
Proposed changes align with Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order signed earlier this year, which encourages energy production and exploration on federal lands and waters. In addition, changes incorporate research published since original plans were approved in 2015, BLM said, including new information about how sage grouse respond to drought and disturbance.
BLM is accepting comments on the proposed changes until Oct. 3 at tinyurl.com/34hardrr. Following a review of comments, BLM will identify necessary changes and make updates if necessary before issuing a Record of Decision and approved RMPA for the eight affected western states.
Proposed changes
BLM released the proposed RMPA and final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Nov. 15, 2024, which began a 30-day protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review period. Multiple states submitted governor’s consistency reviews identifying issues with the proposed plan and EIS. BLM determined modifying the RMPA for several states was necessary to better align with state policies and the Trump administration’s current policy.
The agency removed the designation for Priority Habitat Management Areas (PHMA) with limited exceptions as a distinct subset of PHMAs to improve consistency with state and local plans. All habitat management areas that were designated as PHMAs with limited exceptions will now be designated as PHMAs and will be subject to the management actions and direction for PHMAs in the proposed RMPAs for Idaho, Montana/North and South Dakota, Nevada/California and Wyoming.
BLM also changed the seasonal habitat benchmark for perennial grass height during nesting and early brood rearing for the Nevada/California and Idaho proposed RMPAs. The quantitative standard was revised to a qualitative standard to account for habitat variability across the states, the agency said.
BLM updated the habitat management area boundaries for the Utah Proposed RMPA to more closely align with state policies and minimize sage grouse habitat management areas outside of the state’s management areas.
The Nevada proposed RMPA was revised to open for major rights of way to more closely align with California’s management of General Habitat Management Areas. This would allow renewable energy development in low-impact areas while still prioritizing habitat conservation, the agency said.
BLM also coordinated with the Western Governors Association Sage-grouse Conservation Task Force to better align BLM’s adaptive management process with state policies and programs.
“States expressed a need to clarify how state adaptive management approaches would be incorporated into the BLM’s adaptive management process, and several states expressed concern with using the targeted annual warning system (TAWS) model and a desire to use models maintained and controlled by state wildlife agencies for sage-grouse population calculations,” the RMPA read.
BLM will coordinate with permittees to reduce potential sage grouse impacts from exceptions to adaptive management responses for activated thresholds. This includes renewing livestock grazing permits or leases to extend current grazing until a Casual Factor Analysis is completed. If grazing is not determined as a casual factor to an activated threshold, a renewal may proceed as normal. If grazing is a casual factor, the lease terms will need to be examined through the National Environmental Policy Act and potentially modified.
Reactions
Environmental groups immediately released their opposition to the proposed changes.
“Trump’s proposed plan amendments would hand the states discretion to amend or waive some of the protections, making the process rife with conflicts of interest due to the influence of extractive industries,” the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Today’s plans would also allow for new rights of way within important habitat areas, paving the way for destructive projects like the Greenlink North transmission line through the heart of central Nevada.”
In a June letter, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming told Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum: “We are encouraged by the Administration’s efforts to write state-specific plans that mirror Wyoming’s regulatory requirements and provide greater certainty to industry.”
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) said he was pleased with the announced changes to adaptive management and the elimination of priority habitat management areas with limited exceptions.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce said, “After nearly four years of active engagement with the BLM, it is rewarding to see the plan land in a place that uses the best science available, state expertise and our existing state processes. This collaboration is a representation of our commitment to maintaining a healthy sage-grouse population.” — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
