Oil and Gas Leasing Screen for Greater Sage-Grouse

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-1828
6500 (930) P
December 29, 2009
EMS TRANSMISSION: January 4, 2010
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2010-013
Expires: 9/30/11
To: District Managers and Deputy State Directors
From: State Director
Subject: Oil and Gas Leasing Screen for Greater Sage-Grouse
Program Areas: Fluid Minerals – Leasing
Wildlife Management – Greater Sage-Grouse
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) transmits the oil and gas leasing screen for
Greater Sage-Grouse and guidance for its use in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Wyoming Field Offices. The purpose of the screen is to assist the Field Office specialists in
determining appropriate recommendations for leasing of lands in Greater Sage-Grouse Core
Areas, as defined by the Wyoming Governor’s Sage-Grouse Implementation Team. The
guidance provides a consistent, landscape management approach for the Wyoming (WY) BLM
Field Offices in order to conserve habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse within Core Areas and in
support of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s objective to maintain or enhance all
populations of Greater Sage-Grouse within the same Core Areas, as defined. The Wyoming
State Office of BLM will conduct a periodic review of this parcel screen to determine its
effectiveness and implementation, and to make any necessary changes to improve the
conservation and management of Greater Sage-Grouse habitats.
Policy/Action: It is the policy of the WY BLM to manage Greater Sage-Grouse habitats in
support of population objectives set by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). The
following screen for nominated parcels (Figure 1) is consistent with separately issued guidance
for Wyoming BLM Policy for Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Management, Policy on Wyoming
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Administered Public Lands including the Federal Mineral
Estate.
The screen is also consistent with the Wyoming Governor‘s Sage-Grouse Implementation Team
- Core Population Area Strategy, and the associated Executive Order issued by the Wyoming
Governor in 2008 (Order 2008-2).
Instructions for use of the screen (Figure 1):
Evaluate the parcels by answering the following questions:
1. Is the parcel wholly or partially inside a Core Area? YES or NO?
· Note that specialists must continue to use the most up to date GIS information and
layers that reflect any changes in Core Areas or their boundaries.
If YES, move to question 2.
If NO, recommend for lease sale with attached Lease Notice #3 (Attachment 1), include
CSU - Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Stipulation (Attachment 2), and all
other land use plan-derived stipulations as appropriate.
2. Is the Parcel within suitable habitat for sage-grouse? YES or NO?
· Note, in areas where Field Offices have access to mapped habitat and information,
reference the origin of the maps and information when making this determination.
· In areas where reliable habitat maps and information are not available, specialists
are directed to use the land use plan-derived sage-grouse stipulations, usually
timing limitation stipulations (TLS) as indicator of habitat presence/absence.
If YES, then move to question 3.
If NO, recommend for lease sale with attached Lease Notice #3 (Attachment 1), include
CSU - Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Stipulation (Attachment 2), and all
other land use plan-derived stipulations as appropriate.
3. Is the parcel a part of at least eleven square miles of contiguous, manageable, unleased
Federal minerals? YES or NO?
· This screen component will assist BLM in identifying opportunities where BLM
can conserve large contiguous blocks of manageable, unleased habitat for Greater
Sage-Grouse within the Core Areas.
· Manageability may include, but is not limited to, land and mineral ownership
patterns, arrangement, and any existing development or disturbances that will
affect or influence habitat functionality? Include review of any adjacent Fee and
State lands.
If YES, then refer to the State Office Reservoir Management Group (RMG) for
preliminary review for potential drainage.
If NO, recommend for lease sale with attached Lease Notice #3 (Attachment 1), include
CSU - Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Stipulation (Attachment 2), and all
other land use plan-derived stipulations as appropriate.
4. Did the RMG identify that the parcel has potential drainage issues? YES or NO?
· Technical review is conducted by the Reservoir Management Group.
If YES, recommend for lease sale with Lease Notice #3, include CSU - Threatened,
Endangered, and Sensitive Species Stipulation, and include all other land use planderived
stipulations as appropriate.
If NO, then recommend parcel for deferral.
For all nominated parcels that meet all of the criteria specialist may recommend deferral for
sage-grouse habitat conservation. Deferred parcel areas will remain deferred from leasing until
conservation planning and management potential can be evaluated in the context of a Land Use
Planning action (i.e., revision, maintenance, or amendment). This approach will ensure
appropriate conservation measures and strategy can be effectively applied within Core Areas.
Figure
1.
Timeframe: Effective immediately.
Budget Impact: None.
Manual or Handbook Sections Affected: No manual or handbook sections are affected.
Coordination: This IM was developed through the Wyoming State Office Leasing Stipulation
Committee and coordinated among the Washington Office BLM Division of Fish, Wildlife and
Plant Conservation and the Wyoming BLM Field Offices, the Wyoming Office of the Governor,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Cheyenne Field Office, and the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department.
Contacts: Chris Keefe, Wildlife Biologist, (307) 775-6101, Vickie Mistarka, Physical Scientist,
(307) 775-6199, Bill Hill, Deputy State Director, Resources, Policy and Management,
(307) 775-6113 and Larry Claypool, Deputy State Director, Minerals Lands and Realty,
(307) 775-6148.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Bill Hill Pamela D. Hernandez
Acting State Director Wyoming Central Files
2 Attachments:
1 - Lease Notice #3 (1 p.)
2 - Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Stipulation (1 p.)
Distribution
Director (230), Room 204, LS 1 (w/o atch.)
CF 2 (w/atch.)
Field Managers 1 (w/atch.)