Availability of Bureau of Land Management Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Efforts Data Provided to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Efforts Database
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
September 14, 2015
In Reply Refer To:
1110 (WO 230) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 09/16/2015
Information Bulletin No. 2015-079
To: All Field Office Officials
From: Assistant Director, Resources and Planning
Subject: Availability of Bureau of Land Management Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Efforts Data Provided to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Efforts Database
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has compiled geospatially-referenced information about Greater Sage-Grouse (GRSG) conservation efforts that have been completed since 2009 or are anticipated to be completed in 2015. The FWS is using this information as part of its decision-making process about the status of the GRSG under the Endangered Species Act.
The compiled information is available through the FWS Conservation Efforts Database (CED). The FWS CED contains information provided by many different agencies and stakeholders and is publically accessible online at https://conservationefforts.org/. Information compiled by the BLM is internally accessible as the “BLM 2009-2015 GRSG Conservation Efforts Database” through the BLM’s Internal Geospatial Gateway.
The BLM CED information was initially compiled from the following sources:
- Land Treatment Digital Library as of 10/16/2014.
- BLM National Vegetation Treatments as of 02/01/2014.
- National Invasive Species Information Management System as of 04/16/2014.
- National Fire Plan Operations and Reporting System for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015.
The BLM field offices reviewed and refined this information by:
- Identifying projects in the compiled database that did not provide a benefit to the GRSG and marking them for deletion.
- Identifying plans or projects conducted to provide a benefit to the GRSG that were missing from the compiled database and adding their spatial data to the compilation (point, line or polygon).
- Providing required attribute information for each plan or project, specifically about the effectiveness of the project.
- Completing tables with information regarding modifications made to livestock grazing allotments (identified by allotment number) and modifications to infrastructure (identified by GRSG population, if spatial data was not available) for the benefit of GRSG.
A detailed description of information provided by the “BLM 2009-2015 GRSG Conservation Efforts Database” is provided in Attachment 1.
The information contained in the CED is dynamic and may change over time. The quality of data is based upon the sources from which they were derived, and both scale and accuracy may vary across the data sets. The accuracy, resolution, completeness, timeliness, or other characteristics of the data sets may not be appropriate for all potential uses. Users should carefully consider the content of the metadata file associated with these data. These data are neither legal documents nor land surveys, and must not be used as such. Official records may be referenced at most respective BLM field offices. Please report any errors in the data to the BLM office from which it was obtained. The BLM should be cited as the data source in any products derived from these data. Any users wishing to modify the data should describe the types of modifications they have performed. The user should not misrepresent the data, nor imply that changes made were approved or endorsed by BLM. The BLM may update information in the CED without notification to users.
As a result of this effort, the BLM recognizes the importance of consistent data collection and reporting, and anticipates similar data compilation efforts in the future.
Please contact the following individuals with any questions about data compilation efforts, accessing information, or the application of CED information to other GRSG activities.
Anthony Titolo, NOC Sage-Grouse Coordinator, 303-236-0446, atitolo@blm.gov or Vicki Herren, WO National Sage-Grouse Coordinator, 202-912-7235, vherren@blm.gov.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Amy L. Lueders Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Resources and Planning
1 Attachment