Greater Sage-Grouse

The Utah ARMPA is part of the National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy that was initiated on December 11, 2011, in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) March 202 "warranted, but precluded" Endangered Species Act listing petition decision. It its decision, the FWS identified the inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms as a significant threat to GRSG. Resource Management Plan conservation measures were identified as the BLM's principal regulatory mechanism. The Utah ARMPA amends 14 BLM resource management plans. Throughout the planning process, the U.S. Forest Service has been a Cooperating Agency. The Draft RMPA/Draft EIS and Proposed RMPA/Final EIS for the Utah sub-region included proposed management direction for National Forest System lands. The U.S. Forest Service has completed a separate ROD and Land and Resource Management Plan amendments.

The Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments (ARMPA) for the Great Basin Region are now available. The Great Basin ROD approves ARMPAs for four sub-regions (Idaho and Southwestern Montana, Nevada and Northeastern California, Oregon and Utah).  The ARMPAs will guide future land and resource management on BLM-administered surface and federal mineral estates within Greater Sage-Grouse (GRSG) habitat management areas in the Great Basin Region. The ARMPAs will benefit GRSG and their habitat, as well as the sagebrush-steppe ecosystems that support over 350 other species of wildlife and other multiple uses, including grazing and recreation.