The BLM's responsibility for 68 million acres of sagebrush habitat - more than any other surface-manager in the U.S. - gives the agency a leading role in efforts to reverse declines in sage-grouse populations. With partners at the state and local levels, the agency is working to safeguard the landscapes which Greater sage-grouse and more than 350 other species rely on. Under its mandate of multiple use and sustained yield, the Bureau also manages these lands for the present and future benefit of people who rely on them to support livelihoods and traditions.

More than 70 resource management plans (RMPs) guide these efforts. 
 

Management Plans (2015)

In 2015, after a multi-year collaboration, the BLM and the U.S Forest Service amended a total of 98 land use plans to support sage-grouse conservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relied on these planning decisions and state-level plans to support finding that listing the Greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted. 

We are currently considering amending these plans to account for new scientific information and changing conditions accelerated by the effects of climate change. 

READ our 2022 Greater sage-grouse scoping report, which summarizes comments on issues to consider in updates to these plans. 

The scoping report is a concise summary of comments received and does not restate each one in detail. It identifies the general topics raised and those that are outside the scope of the current updating process, such as mineral withdrawal, funding and budget issues, and agency resources. It does not provide detail on the alternatives that the BLM will develop and analyze. We will continue evaluating scoping comments, along with current data and science, to prepare draft environmental impact statements (EISs) for public review and comment. 

The scoping report fulfills the BLM's requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1502.19(d)). 

VIEW the 2015 plans for each state, along with amendments adopted in 2019 and additional environmental analysis completed in 2020. 

Changes made in 2019 and 2020 have been enjoined by court order, and until legal issues are resolved, the BLM is using the 2015 plans to guide its management actions on behalf of Greater sage-grouse. 

Oregon | Idaho | Nevada/Northeastern California | Utah | Wyoming | Colorado 

These plans were not amended by decisions in 2019 or 2020:  
 

N. Dakota | S. Dakota 
Montana :: Miles City | HiLine | Billings | Lewistown 2020 RMP : 2015 RMPA | Southwest MT 

Withdrawal of Sagebrush Focal Areas (2021) 

The 2015 management plans include a recommendation that the Secretary of the Interior withdraw habitats designated as sagebrush focal areas (SFAs) from eligibility under the Mining Law of 1872 (subject to valid existing rights). SFAs encompass about 10 million acres of Federal lands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. 

The BLM has resumed its evaluation of the proposed withdrawal of SFAs from mineral location and entry and will shortly issue a new draft EIS for public review.