Here’s a closer look at how the Bureau of Land Management plans for public lands management and conservation in Oregon’s high desert.
Resource Management Plans
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses resource management plans (RMPs) as a framework for what land uses can occur and where within a given planning area.
RMPs provide a broad overview for land management, guiding how public lands will be managed over decades. These plans do not dictate specific decisions, such as where trails will be constructed or where fences are needed, but, instead, present an overall strategy for management and conservation of public lands and resources.
Environmental Assessments
BLM uses environmental assessments (EAs) to analyze whether the potential impacts of a proposed project that is otherwise allowable under the applicable RMP will significantly affect the environment. EAs are supposed to consider projects of smaller scale that may entail localized impacts, such as developing or improving recreation opportunities (trails and campsites) or conducting habitat restoration.
EAs result in either a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which then authorizes the agency to proceed with the proposed activity, or determines that project impacts may be “significant,” requiring the agency to further analyze the project in an environmental impact statement.
Environmental Impact Statements
BLM uses environmental impact statements (EISs) to analyze the impacts of larger proposed projects on specific landscapes or across an entire management area where project implementation may significantly affect the environment. EISs are larger in scope and scale and may address large-scale management prescriptions, such as juniper maintenance or invasive species treatments, or potential impacts from a specific project, such as a mine, on other public values and resources.