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PORTLAND, Oregon – The Bureau of Land Management marked a milestone today in the Administration’s effort to better align plans for managing Greater Sage-Grouse habitat on federal lands with state plans by publishing a draft environmental impact analysis of proposed changes to resource management plans in Oregon.

The BLM developed the proposed changes in collaboration with the Oregon Governor, state wildlife managers and other stakeholders to align federal and state plans. State agencies are at the forefront of efforts to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations, and the BLM is being a better neighbor by ensuring that State partners are being heard.

“We are committed to being a good neighbor and respect the state’s ability to manage wildlife, while recognizing the tremendous investments of effort into improving Greater Sage-Grouse populations over the last decade,” said Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt. “We look forward to receiving comments on the draft.”

A number of issues for the State of Oregon have been or will be addressed separately from the current plan amendment process. However, the draft EIS for BLM-managed sagebrush habitat in Oregon addresses the issue of livestock grazing in BLM Research Natural Areas (RNAs). The proposed preferred Management Alignment alternative evaluates the local economic impact of withdrawing RNAs from availability for grazing and examines how livestock grazing impacts the elements and values for which key RNAs were designated.

“Comments from the State during scoping indicated that current BLM plans for managing habitat align well with state plans,” said Jamie E. Connell, BLM state director for Oregon/Washington. “So, we are not throwing out the plan adopted in 2015 and are instead proposing a focused plan amendment to more appropriately frame threats to sage-grouse in Oregon and consider economic issues at a local scale.”

The BLM seeks to improve management alignment in ways that will increase flexibility, maintain access to public resources, and promote conservation outcomes. The Management Alignment alternative in the Draft EIS for Oregon proposes lifting the 2015 withdrawal of 13 BLM research natural areas (RNAs) from livestock grazing, to make an additional 21,959 acres available. Two RNAs (13,872 acres total) would remain closed to grazing. Connell noted that while the withdrawals were a relatively minor provision in the 2015 plan, they are expected to have significant localized impacts on some grazing permittees without corresponding gains for habitat improvement.

The proposed changes build on the 2015 plans, using feedback from States and other partners that found during implementation that the plans did not respond to local needs. Because of that feedback, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued Secretarial Order 3353, Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation and Coordination with Western States, which prompted the Departmental review of the 2015 plans. Zinke also tasked the BLM with implementing a strategy for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation that is done in partnership with local governments, and in a manner that allows both wildlife and local economies to continue to thrive.

As a result nearly every Governor who actively participated in the Sage-Grouse Task Force asked for changes to their plans. Now the BLM is publishing six draft plans covering seven States. The Notices of Availability will appear in Friday’s Federal Register.

The BLM is accepting comments on the entire Draft EIS, as well as the specific planning issues, the cumulative effects analysis, and Priority Habitat Management Area decisions through Aug. 2, 2018. The most useful comments are specific and contain new information related to the proposed actions. Comments may be submitted by mail: BLM – Greater Sage-Grouse EIS, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon, 97208-2965; or online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/103348/510.

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in any comments, please bear in mind that the entire comment — including personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. The BLM will not consider anonymous comments.

The BLM will hold public meetings during the public comment period. Announcements about these meetings will be made by news releases to the media and posting on the project website listed above. The BLM expects to publish a final EIS and plan amendments by October 2018, one year after publishing the Notice of Intent to begin this planning effort.