The Department of the Interior has announced the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 2024 Greater Sage Grouse Plan, introducing amendments to 77 resource management plans across 10 Western states, including Nevada. The plan, unveiled on Nov. 8, aims to balance habitat conservation for the Greater Sage Grouse (GRSG) with other public land uses.
The BLM has selected Alternative 5 as its preferred approach for future management of sage grouse habitats. The agency describes it as follows:
“Alternative 5 was identified as the preferred alternative in the Draft EIS. Alternative 5 considers other potential alignments of habitat management areas (HMAs) and associated management to try to balance GRSG conservation with public land uses. If state governments updated the GRSG management area boundaries in their specific state plans, the BLM is considering those boundaries on public lands in Alternative 5. HMAs are similar to but refined from Alternative 4 and restrictions would generally be similar to Alternative 4; with the exception of Wyoming which would follow the oil and gas management direction in Alternative 2; and the fact that Alternative 5 considered options with fewer restrictions on resource uses and provided more opportunities for considering compensatory mitigation to offset impacts on GRSG and its habitat than Alternative 4. Areas previously identified as sage grouse focal areas (SFAs) are generally managed as priority habitat management areas (PHMA). The primary difference between management of SFAs in the 2015 Plans and PHMAs in this planning effort is that PHMA would not include a recommendation for withdrawal or prioritization strategies for oil and gas leasing and grazing permit renewals.”
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland highlighted the administration’s approach, which seeks to integrate conservation and development objectives.
“Guided by the best available science, we are committed to the continued balance in our multi-use mandate for America’s public lands. For too long, a false choice has been presented for land management that aims to pit development against conservation. This Administration’s collaborative work has demonstrated that we can do both successfully. Through collaborative work in local communities, developed over decades, we are presenting science-based and thoughtful proposals to protect the greater sage-grouse and its habitat.”
The public can formally protest the proposed amendments through the BLM National NEPA Register until Dec. 16, 2024. Additionally, state governors have the opportunity to submit consistency reviews to ensure the amendments align with state and local plans before they are finalized.
For more information or to participate in the process, visit the BLM National NEPA Register.
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