Our Public Lands BLM LM Ne Nevada da/NE NE C Cal alifornia G Great ater Sag age-Grouse Planni ning and g and Impl plemen enta tation Upd Update January 2018
Desired Outcomes Provide a status update on Secretarial Order 3353 follow-up actions and progress: Six revised/new Instruction Memos (policies) released on December 2017 Potential plan maintenance actions Potential plan amendments Provide a status update on the Great Basin Fuel Breaks and Fuel Reductions Programmatic EISs. Update on the BLM’s Great Basin Regional Integrated Program of Work (IPOW) and project prioritization process.
December 2017 Instruction Memoranda September 2016 : BLM released a set of seven sage grouse implementation Instruction Memorandum (polices). December 2017: BLM changed, superseded, or maintained these policies. Policy changes respond to the review of sage - grouse plans and policies per SO 3353 Recommendation Report. Two IMs were maintained in their entirety: 2016-139 , Monitoring and Land Use Plan Effectiveness and 2016-145 , Tracking Surface Disturbance. Four of the six drafts IMs are changes to existing memoranda: 2016-140 , Adaptive Management – now 2018-022 ; 2016-142 , Thresholds and Responses in Grazing permits/leases – now 2018-023 ; 2016-144 , BLM Habitat Assessment Framework Policy– now 2018-021 ; and 2016-143 , Oil and Gas Prioritization – now 2018-026 . One IM was superseded: 2016-141, Priorities for reviewing/processing grazing authorizations – now 2018-024 . One IM was newly created: 2018-025 , Implementing the Habitat Objectives Table (Table 2-2).
December 2017 Instruction Memoranda IM 2018-021: Greater Sage Grouse Habitat Assessment Policy Purpose: Provides direction on implementing the Habitat Assessment Framework (HAF) and additional clarification and guidance to follow when implementing the HAF to assess sage-grouse habitat in order to promote consistency. What’s changed? Emphasis on collaboration with partners for mapping mid and fine scale boundaries and seasonal habitats IM 2018-022: Process for Evaluating Greater Sage-Grouse Land Use Plan Adaptive Management Hard and Soft Triggers Purpose: Provides direction and guidance on the implementation of the adaptive management process to evaluate and apply hard and soft triggers and responses. What’s changed? Removal of hard deadlines for reporting. Emphasis on partner collaboration throughout the trigger evaluation process.
December 2017 Instruction Memoranda IM-2018-023 Incorporating Thresholds and Responses Into Grazing Permits/Leases Purpose: Provide guidance for analyzing and incorporating thresholds and responses into terms and conditions of grazing permits and the associated NEPA. Applies only to PHMA. What’s Changed? More clarification on how habitat objectives (Table 2-2) may be incorporated into thresholds and removal of references to SFAs. IM 2018-024: Setting Priorities for Livestock Grazing Purpose: Provides guidance for prioritizing the review and processing of grazing permits/leases across all BLM lands (nofor the effectiveness t just sage-grouse habitat). In addition, provides guidance on prioritizing monitoring of livestock grazing management and progress towards achieving land health standards. What’s Changed? SFA and PHMA are no longer the primary basis for prioritization. Areas where Land Health Standards have not been evaluated or areas identified as not achieving LHS, and areas with sensitive resources are the primary prioritization factors.
December 2017 Instruction Memoranda NEW IM 2018-025: Implementation of the Habitat Objectives Table Purpose: Provides guidance on the use of Table 2-2 from the ARMPA, including using the existing indictor values in the tables or, when supported by the best available science, alternative indicators values that represent seasonal habitat needs of sage-grouse. IM 2018-026: Oil & Gas Leasing and Development Prioritization Purpose: Ensure consistency, certainty, and clarity when implementing ARMPA objectives to prioritize oil and gas leasing outside of sage-grouse habitat, while still providing for leasing and development, yet providing protections for sage-grouse habitat management areas. What’s Changed? Statement clarifying that BLM does not need to lease and develop outside of sage-grouse habitat management areas before considering any leasing and development within sage-grouse habitat. For leasing, BLM will prioritize its work first in non- habitat management areas, followed by GHMA, then PHMA.
Potential Plan Maintenance Actions Currently, the BLM’s National Office is evaluating whether or not plan maintenance can be used to resolve these following issues for all BLM sage grouse plans: Clarifying the use of lek buffers. Removing the Sagebrush Focal Area “recommend for withdrawal” language. Clarification language for the use of the habitat objectives tables (Table 2-2) .
Potential Plan Amendments Following the release of the Notice of Intent to consider potential BLM plan amendments to the existing BLM Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plans: • Hosted scoping meetings throughout 11 Western states. • Reviewed close to 80,000 scoping letters (majority form letters). • Completed a draft scoping report, which will be publically available by the end of the month. What’s Next (Pending Publication of the Scoping Report): • Thumbs-up from the Department to conduct state-by-state/sub-regional plan amendments. –End of January 2018. • Formalize cooperating agency relationships – Spring 2018 • Conduct interdisciplinary team and cooperating agency meetings – Spring 2018 • Develop action alternatives and related impact analysis – Spring/Summer 2018 • Publish draft amendment – Summer 2018
Programmatic EISs for Fuels Preparing 2 Great Basin Region Programmatic EISs: Fuel Breaks and Vegetation/Rangeland Restoration. The NOI for both of PEISs was published in on 22 December 2017 (beginning of the scoping process). The proposed project area consists of the Great Basin sagebrush steppe ecosystem (i.e. ID, NV, OR, WA, UT, and northern CA). Scoping meetings are scheduled. Scoping period ends 2 weeks after the final scoping meeting (2/15/18). • Tuesday, February 6 from 5-7pm: Susanville, CA (BLM Eagle Lake Field Office) • Wednesday, February 7 from 5-7pm: Reno, NV (UNR Crowley Student Union) • Thursday, February 8 from 5-7pm: Elko, NV (Red Lion) • Tuesday, February 13 from 5-7pm: Ely, NV (Bristlecone Convention Center) The PEISs will provide a mechanism for streamlining the NEPA process at the Field Office level. This will allow on-the-ground implementation projects to occur more expeditiously. Project Manager for these PEISs is Jon Beck, Planner out of the BLM Idaho State Office.
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