DOI-BLM Draft Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy

BLM National Draft Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy
Questions & Answers (06/9/04)

1. What are the goals of the BLM Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Program?

The goals of this program are to:

  • Achieve the BLM’s multiple-use mission of sustaining Healthy Landscapes while allowing productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
  • Conserve and enhance sage-grouse habitat, thereby reversing the decline of sage-grouse populations and ensuring healthy populations in the future.

  • Conserve and enhance sagebrush habitat for the diverse species that are dependent on it for all or part of their life cycles.

  • Provide for various uses of BLM-managed public lands, as provided for under law.

  • Achieve these goals through cooperative conservation. Actions will be developed in consultation, cooperation and communication with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Geological Services, state wildlife agencies, local sage-grouse working groups and many other partners.


2. Who is responsible for managing sage-grouse populations?

The management of sage-grouse is a shared responsibility. The states, acting through their respective wildlife management agencies, are responsible for managing all resident wildlife, including sage-grouse. Federal land management agencies, such as the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, are responsible for managing habitat on lands under their respective jurisdiction. Similarly, other land owners or administrators who manage the lands they own or control may have specific responsibilities related to wildlife and wildlife habitat. Sage-grouse will benefit from and take advantage of suitable habitat, regardless of ownership or management responsibility, so it is important that all stakeholders be engaged in the conservation strategy.
As yet there is no habitat conservation plan that spans the entire range of the sage-grouse.


3. If States manage wildlife, why is the BLM involved in sage-grouse conservation planning?

  • The BLM manages more than half of all remaining sagebrush habitat in the United States, more than 57 million acres. Sage-grouse occupy about 30 million of those acres, and another 10 million acres are potentially suitable for sage-grouse.

  • Under the law, the BLM manages the public lands for multiple use and permits a variety of activities to occur on that land. Those activities may positively or adversely affect the quality of habitat.

  • The BLM is a strong partner in state and local sage-grouse conservation planning efforts and can support those efforts by addressing conservation needs on a broader multi-state, regional and national basis, and by providing consistent BLM policy across all the lands it manages.


4. What is the Conservation Assessment of Greater Sage-grouse and Sagebrush Habitats report just released by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA)?

The conservation assessment is a rangewide examination of the current status and trends of sage-grouse populations and sagebrush-steppe habitat. The assessment was developed by leading federal, state and academic experts in sage-grouse and sagebrush habitats under the auspices of the WAFWA. The report was contracted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the WAFWA agreement of 2002.

The BLM is now reviewing the Conservation Assessment to determine how it relates to cooperative conservation habitat and population management efforts among state and federal agencies. You can see the document on the Nevada Department of Wildlife Web site at: http://ndow.org/wild/sg/resources/assessment.shtm.


5. Was there a peer review of this assessment?

Yes. The Ecological Society of America conducted a peer review.


6. How will the BLM use the information in the conservation assessment?

The BLM team is carefully reviewing the information in the Conservation Assessment of Greater Sage-grouse and Sagebrush Habitats and a special team will incorporate pertinent information into the BLM National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy.


7. What is the status of sage-grouse on BLM-managed public land?

Sage-grouse are clearly a species of concern. The Gunnison sage-grouse is a candidate species for listing and therefore a BLM special status species in Colorado and Utah, and the greater sage-grouse is a Bureau sensitive species in Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming. Regarding candidate species, the BLM Special Status Species Management Manual specifies “… the BLM shall implement management plans that conserve candidate species and their habitats and shall ensure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by the BLM do not contribute to the need for the species to become listed” (section 6840.06C).

Although the greater sage-grouse is not listed as threatened or endangered or as a candidate for listing under the ESA, the BLM treats Bureau sensitive species as if they are Candidate Species. The BLM Special Status Species Management manual specifies, “the protection provided by the policy for candidate species shall be used as the minimum level of protection for BLM sensitive species” (section 6840.06E).


8. What are some actions the BLM is taking to conserve and enhance sage-grouse habitat?

The BLM has funded a variety of projects to map and monitor sage-grouse populations and habitat, developed cooperative conservation projects to conserve these game birds, and worked with state and federal partners on other conservation planning initiatives.

In coordination with states, the BLM will develop best-management practices for authorized uses and management activities on BLM-administered public land and ensure that sage-grouse conservation is addressed in all facets of state-level land use planning. Programs and activities that may be affected include:

  • land-use planning, all levels
  • livestock grazing
  • wildfire management
  • recreation use
  • oil and gas exploration and development
  • regional assessments and monitoring
  • development of partnership opportunities
  • regional implementation partnerships.


9. How will the BLM’s management of sage-grouse habitat relate to management, conservation and restoration efforts currently being conducted by other agencies?

Concern about long-term declines in sage-grouse populations prompted western state fish and wildlife agencies and federal agencies such as the BLM, the USDA Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to agree to work together on cooperative conservation of sagebrush habitats. The cooperative partnership aims to conserve and manage sagebrush habitat for the benefit of sage-grouse, as well as other sagebrush-dependent species.

The BLM is working closely with all agencies conducting programs to evaluate, conserve, enhance and improve sage-grouse habitat. Some of these efforts are:

  • Development of state and local sage-grouse conservation plans being led by state wildlife agencies.

  • Preparation of a rangewide sage-grouse conservation assessment, a project being led by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) and the interagency Conservation Planning Framework Team established under the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding among WAFWA, the BLM, the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Conservation Assessment was released June 9, 2004. It can be seen on the Nevada Department of Wildlife Web site: http://ndow.org/wild/sg/resources/assessment.shtm.

  • Participation in federal interagency multi-species conservation planning activities.

  • Participation in the Great Basin Restoration Initiative.

  • Development of broad-scale sagebrush habitat assessment procedures by the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

  • Participation in interagency data collection and mapping of sagebrush and sage-grouse habitat and seasonal habitat use.

  • Participation in development of a Resource Guide listing resource tools available to assist local and state-level efforts in sage-grouse and sagebrush conservation efforts.


The BLM’s National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy:

10. What will the BLM’s National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy do?

The National Strategy is the overarching umbrella for the Bureau’s management of sagebrush and sage-grouse habitat. It is intended to be a “living document” that can be changed as situations change and require different guidance. Included under this umbrella will be a variety of information and guidance that will help the BLM deliver consistent rangewide conservation efforts. The National Strategy will:

  • Set goals and objectives rangewide for habitat condition and species conservation.

  • Set planning goals and schedules for resource management plans that address sagebrush habitat management.

  • Set the stage for partnership ventures to be successful in conservation of the species and habitat.

  • Develop a funding strategy for sagebrush and sage-grouse habitat programs.

  • Strengthen state wildlife agency and local planning efforts by:

    • addressing sage-grouse habitat conservation needs range-wide, which cannot be achieved in individual state and local plans, and

    • ensuring a consistent range-wide framework to address sage-grouse habitat conservation on BLM-administered lands.

  • Result in suggested best-management practices for authorized uses and management activities on BLM-administered land to ensure sage-grouse conservation is addressed in all levels of land use planning and use authorizations.

  • Benefit other species-at-risk within sage-grouse range, such as pygmy rabbit, white-tailed prairie dog, and Brewer’s sparrow.

  • Benefit more than 350 other plant and animal species dependent on sagebrush habitat.


11. How will the National Strategy work?

For the BLM to successfully conserve sage-grouse habitat, it must first consider conservation needs and management impacts on a broader landscape scale, then step that information down to local management levels in cooperation with all agencies, interests and land ownerships.

The process starts with an overall review of the existing situation by looking at administrative mechanisms and program policies and directions to determine how they affect sage-grouse habitat conservation, and then recommending appropriate changes.

Conservation plans, activity plans, and habitat management plans developed at the state and local level can then address specific needs, solutions and recommended actions in the context of rangewide situations.


12. What laws, policies, plans and publications is the BLM considering during the development of the National Strategy?

The BLM is considering:

  • Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended
  • The Sikes Act of 1974, Title II, as amended
  • The WAFWA Sage-Grouse Conservation Assessment
  • Various peer-reviewed scientific publications
  • The DOI Strategic Plan
  • The BLM’s Strategic Plan
  • State wildlife agency and local working group sage-grouse conservation plans.
  • Rangeland Health Standards
  • Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing factors
  • The Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions (PECE)
  • BLM Resource Management Plans
  • BLM activity plans, such as Allotment Management Plans and Habitat Management Plans


13. How will the BLM involve stakeholders and the general public during the development of the Strategy?

The BLM will employ Secretary of the Interior Norton’s “Four Cs” philosophy. BLM staff will:

  • Consult with local communities and special interest groups on the best way to achieve goals and objectives for the habitat management program and collaborate with those most affected by program decisions;

  • Cooperate by forming partnerships with other agencies, tribes and community groups to develop innovative management tools and programs; and

  • Communicate planning, implementation and scientific information and data, as well as planned actions to the public while listening to the public’s concerns and ideas regarding the Strategy; and thus

  • Conserve the sagebrush habitat that supports sage-grouse populations and other sagebrush-dependent species.


14. How do the BLM’s Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategies relate to sage-grouse conservation plans being done by State wildlife agencies?

The BLM National Strategy is being developed in tandem with state wildlife agency-led sage-grouse conservation planning efforts that will address conservation on both public and private land. The BLM state-level strategies will address only BLM-managed public land, activities and related programs, but will complement the state wildlife agency-led sage-grouse conservation plans.

Neither the BLM National Strategy nor the forthcoming BLM state-level strategies pre-empt state wildlife management authority, but rather these strategies provide guidance specifically for BLM personnel to consistently address sage-grouse issues and implement projects and activities that maintain and or improve their habitat.

The completed BLM national and state-level sage-grouse habitat strategies will address range-wide concerns and describe the actions that BLM is taking to ensure that specific, effective conservation efforts are made on BLM-managed public land.


15. What are the planned completion and publication dates for the National Strategy and the BLM state-level strategies?

Now that the WAFWA Conservation Assessment of Greater Sage-grouse and Sagebrush Habitats is available, the BLM will move into the final stages of completing its National Strategy.
BLM state-level strategies are in various stages of development and completion will vary by state.


16. Who is leading this effort and who can I contact with questions?

The BLM Washington Office’s Fish, Wildlife and Botany Group is coordinating the national Strategy. If you have questions, write to BLM Sage-Grouse Team, P.O. Box 66625, Washington, D.C. 20035-6625.

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Last Updated: 06/10/04