Pinedale Field Office
| Contacts: | Shelley Gregory | |||
| 307-315-0612 |
BLM Pinedale Field Office Conducts Greater Sage-grouse Flights
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) is conducting daily helicopter flights to survey for Greater Sage-grouse.
Flights over the Pinedale Anticline Project Area (PAPA) and some control areas are completed annually in order to meet the monitoring requirements set forth in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Record of Decision (ROD) Wildlife Monitoring and Mitigation Matrix. These flights establish a baseline of winter concentration areas within the PAPA and control areas.
In addition, survey flights over the Normally Pressured Lance and LaBarge project areas will provide valuable data for use in each project’s EIS.
Generally, data is collected by flying 0.5 mile transects at low levels to detect wintering flocks of sage-grouse. Flight data, telemetry data, research data, and ground observation data are all used to determine what habitats are being frequented by the birds in winter. Over multiple years, an accurate picture of winter concentration areas emerges and this information is then used to delineate winter habitat in coordination with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Flights will continue through January and into February.
For more information, please contact Rusty Kaiser at 307-367-5317 or visit the BLM Pinedale Field Office at 1625 W. Pine St., Pinedale, Wyo.
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.
Pinedale Field Office PO Box 768 Pinedale WY 82941