Update to the Idaho Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Special Status Plant List

Program Area:  Special Status Plant Management – Plant Conservation and Restoration Program

Purpose:  This Information Bulletin (IB) incorporates the removal of 29 and the addition of 45 Special Status Plant Species (Attachment 1), as well as changes in plant species occurrences by Field Office, nomenclature, and conservation status (Attachment 2). 

In accordance with national policy (BLM Manual 6840), BLM Special Status Plant and Animal Lists are required to reflect current conservation status to assist in addressing conservation management needs and establishing priorities.

Policy/Action:  This IB transmits Idaho’s Special Status Plant list update.  The Bureau’s national Special Status Species policy (6840.04 sections D.4 and D.6,) provide that State Directors are responsible for “…ensuring that all actions comply with the Endangered Species Act…including compliance with Section 7 consultations and conferences with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service” and for “designating Bureau sensitive species within their respective jurisdictions, and at least once every five years, reviewing and updating the Bureau sensitive species list…”  On BLM-administered lands, all offices are to “…manage Bureau sensitive species and their habitats to minimize or eliminate threats affecting the status of the species or to improve the condition of the species habitat” (6840.2.C).  The BLM Manual 6840 further describes sensitive species as species that require special management consideration to avoid potential future listing under the Endangered Species Act.

If you have questions, please contact Anne Halford, Botanist at (208) 373-3940, or by email ahalford@blm.gov.