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Bureau of Land Management

Inside the new plan for Greater sage-grouse

Posted on by Meghan Riley

This month, the Bureau of Management unveiled its new plan for Greater sage-grouse. With the plan comes a ray of hope — both for the imperiled bird and the ever-diminishing sagebrush steppe ecosystem it depends on. Since the BLM manages more sage-grouse habitat than any other entity, actions taken on these public lands will have massive impacts across the West. The BLM’s final Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendments serve as a new blueprint for how the agency will manage sagebrush habitat on behalf of sage-grouse, other wildlife, and a slew of other uses. What remains to be seen is if we can muster the political will to make this plan a reality and address the very real challenges facing an ecosystem in distress.

As the process leading up to this final plan has shown, there will always be competing voices saying that the BLM is using too heavy a hand, and those saying that the agency isn’t doing enough for sage-grouse. But what’s needed right now isn’t ongoing disagreement, nor delays. Research shows we’re hemorrhaging more than 1 million acres of functioning sagebrush habitat a year. Sage-grouse numbers are a sliver of what they were sixty years ago. To stem declines and retain this species on Wyoming’s wide-open landscapes, what’s needed right now is action.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the plan — how we got here, what the plan does, and what we can expect looking ahead.

The long path towards a sage-grouse plan

Sage-grouse and the sagebrush steppe that sustains them are in trouble. Both have experienced steep losses, with populations of sage-grouse down 80 percent from 1965. Sage-grouse act as a bellwether for the overall health of the sagebrush ecosystem and their decline sounds the alarm for the future of these lands and the communities that depend on them. Without decisive action from the BLM to address growing threats, the bird’s habitat will be further compromised, resulting in rangewide sage-grouse population losses.

Here in Wyoming, we have been fortunate compared to other range states. Between Wyoming’s executive order that’s helped protect sage-grouse habitat with bipartisan support since 2008, climatic conditions that favor sagebrush, and a small human population, Wyoming’s sage-grouse populations have been more resilient than those in neighboring states. Nevertheless, Wyoming is not immune to the habitat loss and degradation laying siege to the Intermountain West and continued long-term declines in Wyoming are a concern. A comprehensive, West-wide sage-grouse plan from the BLM is wholly necessary and overdue.

The BLM has been trying to tackle this problem for going on 10 years. First petitioned for listing in 1999, the US Fish and Wildlife Service determined that Endangered Species Act protection for the Greater sage-grouse was warranted in 2010. This kicked off a massive effort between states and federal agencies — an effort in which Wyoming played a leading role — to create robust plans for protective management. The BLM’s first range-wide sage-grouse management plans rolled out in 2015 with strong bipartisan support from Western governors. In response to conservation measures in these 2015 plans, the USFWS determined the species no longer needed federal protection under the ESA. Unfortunately, these plans were never fully implemented as intended before the first Trump administration carried out revisions that weakened habitat protections to better favor industry. That revised plan was finalized in 2019, but was quickly blocked following litigation. Now, once again, the BLM is on the cusp of finalizing a plan for managing sage-grouse habitat. By building off the 2015 and 2019 plans, clarifying points of confusion, incorporating the latest science, and weighing input from varied stakeholders, the BLM has put forward a balanced approach to sage-grouse habitat management that honors the agency’s multiple-use mandate.

Greater sage-grouse populations across the bird’s range have declined precipitously since the 1960s.

What the plan means for Wyoming

This sage-grouse plan is truly staggering in its scope and detail, as you would expect for a document that amends land use plans for over 70 BLM field offices across 10 states. For Wyoming specifically, the plan introduces some significant new protections for the bird’s habitat to ensure development and industrial uses don’t come at the expense of sage-grouse. With about 97 percent of BLM lands in Wyoming classified as sage-grouse habitat — and almost half of that considered “priority habitat” — this is a big deal! Below are some of the standout provisions that would apply to sage-grouse habitat in Wyoming under the final sage-grouse plan.

Sage-grouse habitat designations used by BLM in the final Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendments. These designations are based on maps provided by the state of Wyoming and mirror general habitat and core area classifications recognized by the state.

Priority Habitat Management Areas

This is the best of the best sage-grouse habitat and overlaps what the state of Wyoming has identified as sage-grouse “core area”. Just under half of the land BLM manages in Wyoming is classified as PHMA, at about 8.6 million acres. Under BLM’s latest plan, these are just some of the management guidelines that would apply in priority habitat:

  • Utility-Scale Solar: excluded; some exceptions
  • Utility-Scale Wind: excluded; some exceptions
  • Oil and Gas Leasing: no surface occupancy; some exceptions/modifications/waivers
  • Major Right of Ways: avoidance area unless specific conditions met

Priority Habitat Management Areas with Limited Exceptions

In reviewing the best available science, along with copious public comment, the BLM determined that select areas of priority habitat are of such exceptional quality and importance to sage-grouse that they warrant the highest level of protection. These are classified as “Priority Habitat Management Areas with Limited Exceptions”. One such area covering roughly 273,000 acres was identified in southwest Wyoming — the so-called “Golden Triangle,” which is home to the densest population of sage-grouse on Earth. This area overlaps the South Wind River Area of Critical Environmental Concern, or ACEC, included in the new Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, underscoring how irreplaceable this region of Wyoming is to a wide range of wildlife. The following noteworthy management guidelines would apply here:

  • Utility-Scale Solar: excluded; no exceptions
  • Utility-Scale Wind: excluded; no exceptions
  • Oil and Gas Leasing – no surface occupancy; no exceptions, modifications, or waivers
  • Major Right of Ways – excluded; some exceptions

Of note, the BLM considered designating this area and three others in Wyoming as ACECs in light of their significance for sage-grouse. However, partly in response to concerns voiced by Gov. Gordon, the BLM eliminated all ACECs from the latest proposed management approach we have before us.

Adaptive Management

The BLM is taking steps to standardize how it adapts management approaches when habitat and population measures dip too much, too quickly. The monitoring methods identified to inform this adaptive management, such as the Habitat Assessment Framework and Targeted Annual Warning System, are intended to create a consistent, rangewide system that catches problems before they snowball out of control. Engagement by the states in this process — especially through the free sharing of data — is critical. As the wildlife professionals responsible for sage-grouse management, each state game and fish agency oversees lek counts in the spring to gauge population levels. Having Wyoming and other states participate meaningfully is for the collective benefit of understanding how the bird is doing across its range and will allow closer examination of circumstances on the ground when areas of concern are flagged.

Where do we go from here?

Additional review of the plan is required between now and January, when a “Record of Decision” could be issued and the plan can take effect. This includes a 30-day protest period for the public and a 60-day consistency review carried out by Governors in affected range states. The BLM has signaled its commitment to getting this plan finalized expeditiously, but time is in very short supply.

Overview of the NEPA process with star denoting where the BLM’s new sage-grouse plan currently stands.

After years of setbacks, it is tantalizing to see so many positive conservation measures enshrined in BLM’s new proposed sage-grouse plan. As sagebrush country faces growing threats — including a quick-moving onslaught of invasive annual grasses that cause more frequent, larger, and hotter wildfires — the time for inaction is gone. Here in Wyoming, where the health of private and public lands are intertwined and vital to the future of our communities, the benefits of smart, protective management on our public lands are far-reaching.

Unfortunately, as is the case for several actions taken in these final months of the Biden Administration, Trump’s ascendency in Washington threatens to undo a lot of this good work. Whether we see attempts to scrap the plan outright, aggressive lawsuits from multiple corners, or yet another plan rewrite, we can be sure of attacks on what the BLM has put forward. We will do all we can to push for science-based solutions and support sage-grouse conservation in the coming storm and seek allies anywhere we can find them. Neither these birds, nor the hundreds of other species they share the sagebrush biome with, have the luxury or capacity to despair in the face of mounting threats and dwindling habitat. They merely soldier on with an inextinguishable will to survive. It is up to us to do right by them and keep fighting on their behalf.

Banner image: Bob Wick, BLM

THE WESTERN SOLAR PLAN IS FINALIZED. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR WYOMING?

Posted on by John Burrows

Where we site large-scale solar matters — and with the final draft of the Bureau of Land Management’s Western Solar Plan, we now have a useful template for proactively deciding where solar projects should (and should not!) be built on federal lands.

Back in April, we asked our supporters to engage in the public comment process for the updated Western Solar Plan, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get solar siting right. If you submitted a comment on the draft plan, we can’t thank you enough! Because of your engagement, the final plan offers greater protections for Wyoming’s wildlife.

From draft to final, the BLM made a number of changes to the plan. Some are good, and some we’re not huge fans of. But on the whole, we’re pleased with how things shook out. Since the plan is rather hefty, we’ve compiled this guide to help you understand what it contains. (We’ll start with main takeaways, then, if you want them, we’ll dive into the nitty-gritty details.)

At the highest level, here’s what we know about the final plan:

  • The plan includes BLM lands in Wyoming. (The previous Western Solar Plan did not include Wyoming.)
  • 3.8 million acres of land in Wyoming are available for lease, or roughly 27 percent of BLM lands in the state. However, the BLM anticipates only 27,000 acres of actual development in Wyoming by 2045 to meet market demand for solar energy — roughly one percent of the total potential area available for leasing.
  • The plan limits solar development using 21 resource-based exclusion criteria including Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, threatened and endangered species habitat, and Tribal Interest Areas, among others.
  • The final plan adds significant protections for big game species. It excludes solar development from crucial winter range, parturition areas, and portions of migration corridors including high-use, stopover, and bottleneck habitat. The plan also helps clarify how new information and research could be used to update maps of big game habitat where development is not allowed. (We still have questions about how this process will work between BLM and state wildlife agencies and how frequently local land use plans will be updated.)
  • The final plan adds features to improve environmental justice considerations and community benefit agreements that WOC and others advocated for. However, we think the BLM did not adequately take into consideration Tribal perspectives and should do more to collaborate with Tribes on when and where solar is authorized, as well as how to address conflicts in priority areas for Tribal communities.
  • Areas available for solar leasing are limited to lands within 15 miles of existing or planned transmission and/or locations with previously disturbed lands.
  • The final plan excludes development on Lands with Wilderness Characteristics that have been protected in local land use plans.

The final Western Solar Plan: A deeper dive

To understand why we needed an updated Western Solar Plan, we have to begin with some context. An update has been long overdue for three key reasons: First, the cost of solar energy has plummeted nearly 90 percent over the last decade. In many places, solar is the cheapest way to add energy capacity to the grid. Second, the technology surrounding solar energy has improved significantly, making solar energy more efficient and viable in northern latitudes and over a wide range of conditions. In fact, the efficiency of solar panels has increased roughly 40 percent in the last decade. Finally, federal policy is currently promoting incentives around renewable energy and decarbonization to address concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Taken together, these trends have led to rapid growth in the solar industry. For perspective, solar and battery storage made up over 80 percent of new U.S. electric generation capacity in 2024 — surpassing even the most optimistic projections around solar development.

These changes point to accelerating demand for locations to site large-scale solar projects, which in turn means that we need to proactively assess where future solar development on public lands is and is not appropriate. This is why BLM’s updated plan is so important: Failing to put protective side-rails in place now to direct future development could mean losing many of the conservation, wildlife, recreation, and cultural values that are so important to Wyoming.

(If you’d like to read more about why the Western Solar Plan is our chance to meet an important moment, see our blog about the draft plan from earlier this year.)

Now that we have the context in place, what follows is WOC’s analysis of the final plan’s important parts.

BLM lands in Wyoming were included in the plan.

This was not a sure bet initially and, in fact, a number of prominent leaders in Wyoming opposed Wyoming’s inclusion. We think that including Wyoming in the new update is a good thing, as it takes some of our best habitat and intact landscapes off the table before projects are being considered.

Wyoming-specific map showing lands available for solar leasing (green) and locations where leasing will not be allowed (pink). This map does not include critical winter range exclusions for big game. Approximately 27 percent of BLM lands in Wyoming are open for leasing. (Note that BLM only anticipates 27,000 acres of actual solar development by 2045.)

The final plan combines aspects of various alternatives within the draft.

The final plan limits solar development to:

  • Areas outside of 21 key resource-based exclusion criteria. This includes exclusions for resources like Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, certain Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, Big Game Habitats, and Critical Habitat Areas for Threatened and Endangered Species. See the full table of exclusions here.
  • Areas with a slope of less than 10 percent.
  • Areas within 15 miles of existing or planned 69kW transmission or greater, and/or areas identified as previously disturbed lands, ​​which generally have diminished resource integrity based on the U.S. Geological Survey Landscape Intactness model.

By increasing the allowable distance from transmission corridors in the final plan, the overall acreage available for leasing on BLM lands in Wyoming increased substantially. The practical effect of this change would give industry more acreage to consider development on.

It’s important to note that the reasonably foreseeable development scenario has not changed — the best guess is demand for solar projects on public land in Wyoming will not exceed 27,000 acres by 2045. It’s also worth noting as a comparison number that there are more than 8 million acres of BLM land in Wyoming with existing oil and gas leasing. Table 6-1 below provides a state-by-state accounting of total lands available for application and exclusion areas.

The plan better protects big game species.

The resource exclusion criterion for big game was significantly improved to protect critical habitats and migration corridors. In the initial draft, solar development would have been allowed in migration corridors, crucial winter range, and parturition areas unless local BLM offices had their own protections in place (which is not the case for most Field Offices in Wyoming). Now, future solar development on BLM lands will be excluded in portions of big game migration corridors mapped as “high use,” migration pinch points, bottlenecks, and stopover areas, not to mention parturition areas and crucial winter range habitat. Additionally, BLM created a new “avoidance designation” for lands intersecting migration corridors mapped as “medium and low use.” This new designation would require developers to work with state wildlife agencies like the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to avoid harm to wildlife in order to proceed with proposed projects in avoidance areas.

This is a huge win and something that WOC and our allies fought hard to ensure. From the beginning, one of the most significant concerns with utility-scale solar development is its impact on wide-ranging wildlife that need open space to move freely across the landscape. The strengthening of this exclusion criterion gives us confidence that future projects will avoid situations like the one that unfolded at Sweetwater Solar, where thousands of pronghorn were pushed into a narrow road corridor because the project was built in a pathway used by the animals to access critical winter range habitat.

The plan clarifies how new information could be used.

BLM clarified the process by which new information, research, and habitat maps could be updated into the final plan as we learn more and refine our knowledge of the important movement patterns and habitat needs of wildlife. This provides a compelling incentive and opportunity to map additional migration corridors and update habitat maps for big game in the state.

Notably, a lack of mapped and published migration corridors in Wyoming reduced the amount of land designated as either “exclusion” or “avoidance” areas. Compared to some other states (like Nevada), Wyoming has a relatively small number of exclusion and avoidance areas for big game migration corridors, despite having some of the best habitat and copious data to draw on to model additional migration corridors. From our perspective, this provides another compelling reason why Wyoming must continue mapping and recognizing migration corridors, not to mention updating big game crucial winter range maps, so that this critical information can be used to better protect our state’s wildlife resources in future federal land management processes. Figure 6-3 below shows areas where solar leasing would currently be excluded and avoided based upon migration corridor data.

The plan excludes Lands with Wilderness Characteristics.

For Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, we are extremely pleased to see the BLM acknowledge the value of lands that still hold their wildness by excluding designated LWCs outright and considering all others — including those nominated by citizens — during project-level decisions. These areas are an important piece of the interconnected whole. They safeguard the ecological integrity of the greater landscape and provide meaningful opportunities for Tribal members and local communities to connect with and sustainably steward the land.

Other considerations

During the public comment period on the draft plan, WOC and the Wyoming Wilderness Association raised a number of other important issues. These were addressed (to various degrees) as programmatic design features in the plan. These included:

  • A requirement to identify whether the lands within and immediately adjacent to the proposed solar energy project have been assessed for wilderness characteristics or have been included in a citizen’s wilderness inventory or proposal.
  • Requirements around Tribal consultation considerations and the avoidance of impacts to resources and landscapes important to Tribal communities.
  • Requirements around environmental justice considerations and guidelines encouraging the use of community benefit agreements by developers.

We are still working to understand the exact implications and nuances of these requirements, especially as they relate to Tribal consultation and what mitigation looks like when impacts to Tribal resources occur. The mitigation concepts proposed in the final plan fail to recognize the place-based importance of these resources for Tribal communities. As such, mitigating impacts by guaranteeing access to a resource in a different location, or by transplanting species, misses the point of those areas themselves being important — not just the area’s plants, minerals, or animals.

Conclusion: Looking forward

All in all, BLM’s final plan shook out positively for big game species and a number of the other resources and values that are critical from a conservation perspective. Given the relatively small amount of development forecasted in Wyoming, WOC would have preferred the final alternative to be more prescriptive in limiting development to only the least impactful locations.

As we think about the future of renewable energy development, it is only going to become more important to focus on project-specific NEPA analyses to understand the local and overall cumulative effects of proposed development. Decisions made at the project level, even down to the type of fencing and ways that solar panels are mounted, can have a huge impact on the environment and wildlife. Similarly, as with other forms of development, careful attention needs to be given to lifecycle considerations such as impacts from raw material extraction, component recycling, and reclamation for utility scale solar projects. Our commitment to Wyoming and our supporters is to scrutinize these projects as they’re proposed and take action when changes or improvements are necessary.

The renewable energy boom is coming, and one of the biggest challenges we face is the need to simultaneously reduce our carbon emissions to address a changing climate, while also protecting the best of the habitat and natural resources we have left. Locally, these goals can find themselves at odds, despite the fact that globally, they are largely the same.

In this transition, it’s important to recognize that Wyoming sits in a place of abundance — for its renewable energy potential and its outstanding habitat, recreation, and cultural resources. With so much to lose, we must proceed carefully and thoughtfully. The Western Solar Plan is a step in the right direction, but much more work still needs to be done to ensure that all large scale energy development is done responsibly with both environment and people in mind.

Header image: Bureau of Land Management | Flickr CC

Wyoming Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Just Compensation for Solar Owners

Posted on by Max Owens

Powder River Basin Resource Council & Wyoming Outdoor Council welcome the opportunity for more energy freedom in Wyoming

 In a precedent-setting decision issued last week, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down High Plains Power’s policy to cut by approximately 80 percent the compensation paid to rooftop solar owners for the power they produce and share with the electric grid. The decision now forces the Wyoming Public Service Commission to reconsider what is a just and reasonable rate to compensate solar owners.

Had the PSC’s approval of High Plains Power’s policy been upheld, it would have negatively impacted hundreds of existing and future solar homeowners and businesses and the roughly dozen Wyoming small businesses that install solar panels across the state, providing jobs and revenue for Wyoming’s future.

“Most businesses and homeowners invest in on-site solar generation to gain a degree of energy independence, a source of clean energy, AND a reasonable financial return on investment. Today’s decision helps to preserve a simple and fair compensation structure for future solar investors and, most importantly, prevents HPP from reducing the compensation expected by their members already using solar,” said Scott Kane, co-owner of Lander-based Creative Energies, the company responsible for installing many of the rooftop solar systems within the High Plains service area. 

The Court struck down the PSC’s 2023 decision authorizing High Plains Power to reduce the compensation it gives to customers who generate solar power and send it to the grid. Wyoming’s net metering statute requires utilities to credit customers for the excess solar power they provide at the same retail rate they pay for the electricity they consume from the grid. However, High Plains switched to compensating net-metered customers for their excess generation by paying them on a monthly basis at a much lower rate, called avoided cost. This change meant that customers could no longer roll over generation credits, dramatically reducing the financial benefit of having solar panels.

Not wanting the precedent of High Plains Power’s action to stand or influence other utilities, and seeking to represent the interests of their membership, Powder River Basin Resource Council and Wyoming Outdoor Council intervened in the PSC proceedings reviewing High Plains Power’s proposal in 2022 and later appealed the PSC’s split 2–1 decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“We’re pleased that the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the High Plains and the PSC actions were in violation of the law. If left to stand, it would have paved the path for other electric utilities to enact similar policies rendering customers’ solar investments much less economic and gravely threatening Wyoming’s growing solar industry,” said Bob LeResche, Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Member, and solar-owner member of the rural electric cooperative Powder River Energy Corporation near Clearmont, Wyoming. 

“We are grateful that the terms on which we chose to make an investment in a solar system will be maintained. We hope that the rooftop solar industry will continue to grow, providing more jobs and more distributed electricity,” stated Elizabeth Aranow, a High Plains Power solar owning customer.

BREAKING: Governor’s task force recommendations shape improved public lands management in newly released Rock Springs plan

Posted on by Max Owens

August 22, 2024 – Today, the Bureau of Land Management released its proposed Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, outlining management direction for almost 3.6 million acres of public lands in southwest Wyoming. The proposed plan clearly reflects and incorporates feedback from tens of thousands of public comments and input from local stakeholders, including the task force Gov. Mark Gordon convened in late 2023.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council and Wyoming Wilderness Association both served on the governor’s task force alongside representatives with interests in oil and gas, grazing, energy production, motorized recreation, sportsmen groups, and trona industry. The task force also included elected officials from communities in Sweetwater County as well as the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate for the Wyoming Legislature. This group developed more than 100 consensus-based recommendations, supported by all stakeholders, to improve the plan and delivered these recommendations to the BLM during the agency’s public comment period.

The BLM took the task force’s consensus-based comments seriously. The proposed Rock Springs Resource Management Plan reflects task force recommendations including maintaining access for the local trona mining industry, retaining the OHV play area in parts of the Killpecker Sand Dunes, and protecting the unique natural and cultural values of Boar’s Tusk.

In response, WOC and WWA issued the following statements:

“We’re pleased to see the BLM incorporated public feedback and input from Gov. Gordon’s task force into a plan that serves local communities, iconic landscapes, and wildlife,” said Alec Underwood, program director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “Among other important agreements, the task force reached consensus on the need to protect gold-standard habitat and other significant natural values in the Big Sandy Foothills and Northern Red Desert, such as Boar’s Tusk. It’s encouraging to see the BLM’s responsiveness, as well as the agency’s efforts to build on the task force’s strong foundation where agreement wasn’t reached, as they did for the Big Sandy Foothills. While the plan could be improved — protections for the iconic big game migration corridors in the region, for example, fall short of the mark — we appreciate that the agency worked diligently to ensure that updated management direction will conserve some of our country’s best remaining wildlife habitat, while also maintaining all of the unique recreational opportunities found within the field office.”

“It is a testament to the dedication of all who love and care for the lands within the Rock Springs Field Office that the proposed plan includes some robust, durable, and reasonable conservation measures for the Northern Red Desert and Big Sandy Foothills. We applaud the BLM for making the hard decisions necessary to ensure these wild and working landscapes continue to thrive for future generations to use and enjoy,” said Lauren Marsh, BLM program manager for Wyoming Wilderness Association. “We are, however, disappointed that some key provisions in the draft RMP were not carried forward in the proposed plan, namely recognizing Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWCs) and important protections for the hoodoo-studded wildlands surrounding Adobe Town. Nevertheless, we appreciate the willingness of the BLM to take to heart the concerns of local Wyoming residents as expressed through public comment and recommendations from Governor Gordon’s task force. What you see reflected in the plan for the northern portion of the Field Office — and taskforce recommendations — is how much Wyomingites value wildlife and the wildlands that support them, even under the demands of a largely extraction-based economy.”

What happens next?

The issuance of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement initiates a 30-day public protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review. The agency will finalize the plan after resolving issues raised in these processes.

To stay up-to-date on this process, make sure you’re signed up to receive emails from WOC. As we dive into the plan and examine how it will impact the wildlife, cultural resources, and other values of the Red Desert, we’ll keep you informed.

Read more about the plan in WOC’s joint release with The Wilderness Society.

For more information, contact:

Carl Fisher, Executive Director, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (801) 910-7487,
carl@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Lauren Marsh, BLM Program Manager, Wyoming Wilderness Association, (205) 807-4783, lauren@wildwyo.org

Max Owens, Communications Manager, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (307) 488-3451, max@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org