Sportsmen and Women Spoke Up, BLM listened in Land Use Plan

The Bureau of Land Management has released the proposed land use plan to guide management actions across 780,000 acres in Idaho for the next several decades. And with an incredible amount of coordination and input, Idaho sportsmen came out big!

The Four Rivers Field Office encompasses BLM lands from the Bennett Hills north of Mountain Home, through the Boise Front, to Brownlee reservoir. Think hunting units 39, 43, 44, and 45: it’s a lot of popular hunting ground. Click here to see the proposed plan and check out our blog to learn more about Resource Management Plans and how important they are for sportsmen and wildlife.

Over the past year the Idaho Wildlife Federation, along with our affiliates and partners, worked tirelessly to address components in the draft plan that failed to meet the needs of hunters and anglers. Sportsmen and women spoke up and the BLM listened.

In the proposed plan, the BLM adopted a Backcountry Conservation Area (BCA) for the Bennett Hills totaling 85,930 acres. This is a brand new management tool that explicitly provides for high-quality wildlife-dependent recreation associated with those species, such as hunting, fishing, trapping, and wildlife watching. It’s a new designation that prioritizes hunters! The Bennetts are a prized area for chukar hunters, winters thousands of elk, deer, and pronghorn, and historically produced some of Idaho’s biggest mule deer. The incorporation of the BCA allows motorized use on existing routes and implements stipulations for oil and gas development for wildlife considerations. Idaho is one of the first states to incorporate BCAs in Resource Management Plans.

Most “Areas of Critical Environmental Concerns” (ACECs) that IWF spoke up to conserve or expand were incorporated in the final plan. The Boise Front ACEC, critical winter habitat for over 10,000 mule deer jumped from 11,254 acres to 15,080. The Hixon Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse ACEC, west of Midvale, expanded from 4,170 acres to 18,660, protecting some of the remaining 3% of the gamebird’s remaining habitat. There were threats to eliminate the Long-Billed Curlew ACEC in the draft plan, but the final draft retains 26,810 acres southwest of Emmett. Still, we would’ve liked to see more retention of the current acreage as the management prescriptions in the Curlew ACEC also benefit our game birds and big game herds. While we unapologetically fight for our wildlife, IWF’s comments emphasized the need to look after the health and vitality of our bird populations and big game herds and still allowing traditional uses such as grazing in certain ACECs.

“IWF applauds the local Four Rivers Field Office for listening to the sporting public and incorporating critical changes in the final draft resource management plan,” said Brian Brooks, IWF Executive Director. “We look forward to continuing to work with our agency partners on habitat improvement projects and sportsman access while guiding framework for future management on our public lands.”

The final draft RMP is a prime example of how engaged hunters and anglers can yield results and another example of how your dollars to IWF are being put to use. You can check out IWF’s comments on the draft plan below and see how it matches up with the final plan.

It is important to note that the Four Rivers RMP stands out among other resource management plans across the West. Elsewhere, the Department of Interior stripped widely supported conservation measures in two Montana plans. Check out our friends at Montana Wildlife Federation’s efforts to speak up for our wildlife and sporting heritage in our neighboring state.