BLM Sage-grouse plans

In 2015 the BLM adopted more than 70 management plans to safeguard the landscapes on which greater sage-grouse and more than 350 other species rely for survival and which also sustain the West's rural economies. We worked with partners to revise these plans in 2019 to build flexibility in coordinating various states' wildlife management laws and policies.

Following court orders enjoining the 2019 updates, we have been managing sage-grouse habitat on BLM-managed public lands according to the plans adopted in 2015. Since then, sage-grouse populations have continued to decline, and recent science shows that we need to once again update our plans to allow decisive action across state boundaries to achieve lasting benefits for sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat.

Now, we are proposing alternatives for strengthening these plans, informed by the best-available science and input from local, state, federal and Tribal partners. 

The proposed alternatives build on the most successful components of the 2015 and 2019 plans, incorporate new sage-grouse conservation science and lessons learned, account for changing resource conditions, and balance consistent management across the range with flexibility to address on-the-ground conditions and policies specific to individual states.

The draft environmental impact statement and proposed plan amendments will open for public comment on March 15, 2024. The comment period will end on June 13, 2024. Information on how to submit a comment will be available on this webpage when the comment period opens. 

Read and comment on the Draft EIS 

We will hold 13 public meetings to answer questions and present detailed information about the draft alternatives and analysis. 


Public meeting information

 
 

A wildlife specialist carefully cradles a greater sage-grouse hen
 


Withdrawal of Sagebrush Focal Areas  

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 issue a new draft EIS for public review, separate from the EIS analyzing proposed amendments to the 2015 plans. 
 


 

Conservation Topics

thick, dry cheatgrass overgrowing sagebrush
Though it looks sturdy, Big sagebrush can be bullied by invasive plants like cheatgrass. | USFWS/Jennifer Strickland

 

2015 Plans

VIEW the 2015 plans for each state, the 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 in 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