Grasshopper and Mormon cricket Treatments within Sage-Grouse Habitat

IM 2016-115
Instruction Memorandum

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240

 

June 24, 2016

 

In Reply Refer To:

1790, 9011 (220) P

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 07/08/2016

Instruction Memorandum No. 2016-115

Expires: 09/30/2017

 

To:            All State Directors (except Alaska and Eastern States)

From:        Assistant Director, Resources and Planning

Subject:    Grasshopper and Mormon cricket Treatments within Sage-Grouse Habitat  

         

Program Areas:  Wildlife, Rangeland.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) provides guidance on the use of insecticides within occupied Gunnison Sage-Grouse and Greater Sage-Grouse habitat on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands for grasshopper and Mormon cricket suppression.

Policy/Action:  This IM includes standard operating procedures and appropriate management actions to provide adequate grasshopper and Mormon cricket control to rangelands while still providing suitable habitat for Gunnison Sage-Grouse (a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act) and Greater Sage-Grouse (a BLM Sensitive Species).

The BLM states are directed to coordinate with local Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) personnel and state wildlife agencies as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning treatments in Sage-Grouse habitat.  Management actions within the range of Gunnison Sage-Grouse must also be in compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.  Appropriate management actions and operating procedures may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Priority Habitat Management Areas (PHMA), Important Habitat Management Areas (IHMA), and Occupied Habitat:

  • Do not treat (spray or bait) within Sage-Grouse nesting/early brood-rearing habitat or summer/late brood-rearing habitat areas during the respective seasonal use periods, unless

1)  An emergency case exists as determined locally by both BLM and APHIS-Plant Protection and Quarantine, or

2)  Habitat conditions are unsuitable for Sage-Grouse and the area is not likely to be occupied by Sage-Grouse at the time of treatments.  See the appropriate land use plan or amendment and local information to identify use periods for the respective seasonal habitats

3) If treatments in PHMAs, IHMAs and occupied habitat cannot be avoided, treat the minimum amount of area needed to ensure grasshopper and Mormon cricket control objectives.  Field offices are to refer to the Required Design Features (including seasonal restrictions) found in their land use plan when control measures are being authorized.

General Habitat Management Areas (GHMA)

  • Treat the minimum amount of area needed to ensure grasshopper or Mormon cricket control objectives, as agreed to by BLM and APHIS locally, while avoiding occupied or likely occupied nesting or late brood-rearing habitat to the extent possible.  
  • Field offices are to refer to the Required Design Features found in their land use plan when control measures are being authorized (including seasonal restrictions).

Additional Considerations: All Habitat Management Areas

  • The 2002 Rangeland Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program Final Environmental Impact Statement identifies the aerial application  of diflubenzuron (Dimilin), applied in a Reduced Agent and Area Treatment (RAAT) method, or ground applications of carbaryl bait as the preferred treatment for grasshopper and Mormon cricket control. 
  • Non-bait applications of carbaryl and applications of malathion should only be used when BLM and APHIS agree it is necessary for critical situations.
  • Implement treatment effectiveness monitoring, if warranted. For example, carbaryl and malathion are sometimes used in critical situations, and monitoring is conducted after the use of either active ingredient.
  • The BLM offices must make written requests to APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine local and/or state offices for treatments. The BLM’s request may contain conditions described herein for treatments in Sage-Grouse habitats.  APHIS will determine if treatments can be effective if the BLM conditions are met. 

Timeframe: This IM is effective immediately.

Budget Impact:  Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 funding has been allocated from the current program for coordination with APHIS and treatments by the BLM.  If needed, additional funding can be requested through the Washington Office.

Background: The National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy was initiated in 2011 in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) March 2010 “warranted, but precluded” Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing petition decision. The BLM, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service developed a targeted, multi-tiered, coordinated, collaborative landscape-level management strategy, based on the best available science, which offers the highest level of protection for Sage-Grouse in the most important habitat areas.  The Greater Sage-Grouse Plans and Amendments were issued on September 21, 2015.  The targeted protections afforded in these plans not only protect the Sage-Grouse and its habitat, but also over 350 wildlife species associated with the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem, which is widely recognized as one of the most imperiled of its kind in North America. In September 2015, the FWS announced that listing the Greater Sage-Grouse under the ESA was not warranted.  The BLM and U.S. Forest Service land use plans were key elements in the not warranted determination. Land use conservation measures in PHMAs are designed to minimize or avoid habitat disturbance.  Within PHMAs, specific areas have also been identified as Sagebrush Focal Areas that receive additional emphasis.  The Sagebrush Focal Areas are important landscape blocks with high breeding population densities of Sage-Grouse and existing high quality sagebrush. The plans also designate GHMAs, or other, intermediate, designations, which provide greater flexibility for land use activities.  The APHIS and local county weed and pest districts estimate that some BLM states excluding Alaska and Eastern States may require pesticide treatments for grasshoppers and Mormon crickets.  Grasshopper suppression treatments are essential to protect private rangelands and crops.  Treatments also protect federal rangelands from defoliation, particularly the loss of forbs, essential for many wildlife species.

Participation in a grasshopper or Mormon cricket suppression program is based on potential damage to crops, damage to rangeland, damage to re-vegetation projects, creation of public nuisances, and endangerment of road traffic. Benefits of treatments include protection of forage and crops, increased probability of success for rangeland re-vegetation projects, elimination of public nuisances, and prevention of hazards to road traffic.

Treatment application methods (air and ground) as well as application timing could potentially disturb Sage-Grouse, particularly during early brood rearing.  Grasshoppers, as well as other insects, are an important food source for chicks.  The preferred treatment method for grasshopper and Mormon cricket control includes using Dimilin sprayed aerially.  Additionally, it is applied utilizing a strip method commonly referred to as RAAT.  Other treatment methods include Ultra-low-volume Malathion and carbaryl bait. The BLM state and field offices are coordinating with APHIS and local county weed and pest districts in anticipation of the 2016 season.

Manuals/Handbook Sections Affected: The BLM Manual Sections 9011- Chemical Pest Control and 9012-Expenditure of Rangeland Insect Pest Control Funds are affected and will need to be updated prior to the expiration date of this IM.

Coordination:  This document was coordinated with representatives of the Division of Forest Rangeland Riparian, and Plant Conservation Division (WO-220), BLM Idaho State Office (930), BLM National Sage-Grouse Coordinator (WO-230), BLM IPM Specialist (NOC-580), and Animal Health Inspection Service (APHIS) State Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Coordinators. 

Contact:  Questions regarding this IM should be directed to the BLM Washington Office, Gina Ramos, Senior Weed Specialist, Division of Forest, Rangeland, Riparian and Plant Conservation, WO-220 at 202-912-7226 or Vicki Herren, BLM National Sage-Grouse Coordinator, Division of Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation WO-230, at 202-912-7235.

 

Signed by:                                                       Authenticated by:

Nancy Haug                                                    Robert M. Williams

Acting, Assistant Director                              Division of IT Policy and Planning,WO-870

Resources and Planning

Fiscal Year

2016