North Dakota Field Office
| Contacts: | Mark Jacobsen 406-233-2831 |
BLM Begins Scoping for Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy in North Dakota
As part of a national strategy to evaluate greater sage-grouse conservation measures in land use plans, the BLM North Dakota Field Office is asking the public to help identify issues to be addressed in an environmental impact statement and land use plan amendment by attending a scoping open house on Jan. 17, 2012, at the City Hall in Bowman.
The open house will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and the public can drop by the open house at any time between those hours. A short overview of the sage-grouse planning strategy will be presented at 5, 6, and 7 p.m.
The North Dakota Field Office will be amending the North Dakota Resource Management Plan (RMP) to apply greater sage-grouse habitat conservation measures to land use activities.
Based on ongoing threats to the greater sage-grouse and its habitat throughout the West, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2015 deadline for making a decision whether to list the species under the Endangered Species Act, the BLM will be incorporating consistent objectives and conservation measures into relevant resource management plans by September 2014.
For those unable to attend the scoping meeting, scoping comments may be submitted by a variety of methods. More information on how to submit comments can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/prog/wildlife/mtdksplanning.html.
The scoping period began Dec. 9 and ends Feb. 7, 2012.
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. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
North Dakota Field Office 99 23rd Avenue West Dickinson, ND 58601